


The Thaw | Jared/Jensen, RPS AU | NC-17

by meus_venator



Series: The Iron Ridge Pack 'Verse [1]
Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: A/B/O, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Dystopia, Alternate Universe - Slavery, Alternate Universe - Werewolf, BAMF!Jensen, Bighorn Rez, Bureau of Werewolf Affairs, Dubious Consent, Dystopia, Hunter Division, Hurt/Comfort, Iron Ridge Pack, J2 werewolves, Knotting, M/M, Marshal!Jensen, Prostitution, Rape/Non-con Elements, Scared!Jensen, Self-Lubrication, Werewolf Mates, Werewolf Rez, Werewolves Reservation, bamf!jared, hurt!Jensen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-01
Updated: 2015-01-19
Packaged: 2018-02-11 06:50:23
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 15
Words: 86,810
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2058060
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meus_venator/pseuds/meus_venator
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Federal Marshal Jensen Ackles of the Hunter Division was the best tracker the department had on the west coast. Having watched his entire family be slaughtered by a wolf pack as a child, Jensen dedicated himself to becoming a hunter. Under his watch no one would ever suffer as he had, and renegade werewolves would be brought to justice and shipped back to the rez where they belonged. When a call came in about a were sighting in the sleepy town of Munter’s Gorge, Montana, Jensen thought he’d be home in no time. Then he met Jared at the local coffee shop and the case suddenly became a whole lot more complicated.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Hunt

**Author's Note:**

> **Title:** **[The Thaw](http://meus-venator.livejournal.com/67191.html)**  
>  **Author:** [](http://meus-venator.livejournal.com/profile)[](http://meus-venator.livejournal.com/)**meus_venator**  
>  **Artist:** [](http://inanna-maat.livejournal.com/profile)[](http://inanna-maat.livejournal.com/)**inanna_maat**  
>  **Alpha:** [](http://simplybeing.livejournal.com/profile)[](http://simplybeing.livejournal.com/)**simplybeing**  
>  **Beta:** [](http://fufaraw.livejournal.com/profile)[**fufaraw**](http://fufaraw.livejournal.com/) , [](http://kinkyheels.livejournal.com/profile)[**kinkyheels**](http://kinkyheels.livejournal.com/) and [](http://sylsdarkplace.livejournal.com/profile)[](http://sylsdarkplace.livejournal.com/)**sylsdarkplace**  
>  **Genre:** SPN RPS, AU, A/B/O  
>  **Pairings:** Jared/Jensen  
>  **Rating:** NC-17  
>  **Warnings, kinks & contents:** AU, A/B/O, knotting, hurt/comfort, hurt!Jensen, werewolves, BAMF!Jensen, shifting, non-con, dub-con, slavery. Please do not read if any of these give you pause.  
>  **Length:** 85k  
>  **Disclaimer:** Lies, all lies, this story is not intended to resemble anyone living or dead, and no offense is intended, especially not two underwear models who are happily married.  
>  **Written for:** [](http://spn-j2-bigbang.livejournal.com/profile)[](http://spn-j2-bigbang.livejournal.com/)**spn_j2_bigbang** 2014
> 
>  **Summary:** Federal Marshal Jensen Ackles of the Hunter Division was the best tracker the department had on the west coast. Having watched his entire family be slaughtered by a wolf pack as a child, Jensen dedicated himself to becoming a hunter. Under his watch no one would ever suffer as he had, and renegade werewolves would be brought to justice and shipped back to the rez where they belonged. When a call came in about a were sighting in the sleepy town of Munter’s Gorge, Montana, Jensen thought he’d be home in no time. Then he met Jared at the local coffee shop and the case suddenly became a whole lot more complicated.
> 
> [Master Post on Live Journal](http://meus-venator.livejournal.com/67191.html)  | **[Art Post on Live Journal](http://inanna-maat.livejournal.com/101123.html)** | ****|  And comments appreciated no matter when you read this story
> 
>  
> 
> Look at the **Fanmix** [](http://inanna-maat.livejournal.com/profile)[](http://inanna-maat.livejournal.com/)**inanna_maat** put together complete with art!!!!  
>  Give it a listen to put you in the mood  
>  **[4shared download link](http://www.4shared.com/zip/C6ROpK25ce/Thawing_a_frozen_heart__fanmix.html) ** | |   **[mediafire download link](http://www.mediafire.com/download/5u5h931lc3bvvme/Thawing_a_frozen_heart_\(fanmix_bb2014\)_inanna_maat.zip) | |  Then go look at her amazing [Master Art Post on Live Journal](http://inanna-maat.livejournal.com/101123.html)**

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The hunter slammed the door of his truck in frustration and limped to the cabin.

He jabbed his key at the keyhole, missing several times as excess adrenaline pumped through him. Snarling in frustration, he slapped the rough-hewn door with the flat of his palm, savoring the pain as it radiated up his arm –everything, and more, that he deserved.

 

Disgusted with himself, he squeezed his eyes closed and leaned his forehead against the cold wood. He’d screwed up, big time. Such a rookie move. It was a wonder he was even still breathing. After doggedly tracking rumors of a were sighting for the last two weeks, all of which had dead-ended, he’d walked into the thick of things like a lamb to slaughter. The man had gotten the drop on him with pitiful ease.

Having indulged his pity party long enough, he shoved it ruthlessly away and moved aside to let silvery light from the full moon illuminate the lock. With it visible, Jensen was finally able to punch the key home and open the door. He released the small tripwire running along the base of the threshold, and quickly tapped out the security code for the alarm he’d rigged on the panel just inside the door. He knew some hunters didn’t bother with such old school tricks, but Jensen had learned you couldn’t always count on technology, especially with old properties like this up in the mountains where power outages were frequent, and random. You had to have a Plan B.

He dropped his bag by the door and hooked his Stetson on the coat rack as he entered. He was checking the perimeter alarm and trip lines he’d set up on the windows when his cell rang.

He barely had a chance to thumb ‘talk’ and bring the phone to his ear before a dry voice started chastising him.

“Well, at least you didn’t get your fool ass killed.”

The hair on the back of Jensen’s neck rose, and he resisted the urge to bark back and hang up. The fury rushing through him was short-lived, though. Captain Williams was right. He’d been right all along, and Jensen – well, Jensen hadn’t listened. He scrubbed his hand wearily across his eyes and huffed out a breath before he spoke.

“Yeah, but it was a damn near thing. And yeah, you told me so.” Jensen limped to the kitchen area, turned on the faucet and filled the kettle, lighting a stove burner to set it on. He'd rented the modest cabin when he caught the call of a were sighting in the area, rather than linger in the dubious comfort of The Falls Motor Inn, the only motel in town. While the water heated, he gave due attention to the rest of the windows. The trip lines wouldn't keep anything out, but a disturbed line gave good warning of tampering. Sometimes that small advantage made all the difference between staying alive and getting torn to shreds.

“I should’a listened to you, old man.”

“An old clock’s gotta be right at least twice a day, son. So was it him?”

“Nah, I was hopeful at first. He had the grey fur and the white blaze, but when he finally shifted, it wasn’t him. Doesn’t matter though, he was still a rogue, no travel tags, and his furry ass sure as hell wasn’t on the rez. I tried to give him a choice, but there was no talking to him. You know what they’re like sometimes, once they’ve been off the reservation. They won’t go back. The only choice left was to put him down.”

“Amen to that. You know some of this could have been avoided if you’d called for backup like you're s’posed to do.” Jensen could almost see his Captain shaking his head. “So, how’d things go south?”

Finished checking the last of the windows, Jensen crossed the open living space to the kitchen side of the cabin, waiting impatiently for the water to heat. He needed coffee bad. He’d see to his leg, after.

“I thought it was just a regular interview, but the witness turned out to be the perp. With the full moon and all, it was total bullshit luck I actually managed to take him down. He was coming for me, hard. It’ll all be in my report tomorrow.”

Williams snorted. “You’d think they’d learn by now.”

“You know at this point, I don’t even care.” Jensen shrugged as he poured now boiling water into his cup. “The law's the law. If they won’t stay where they’re put, I’ll take each and every one of them out, and not feel a minute's guilt.” Jensen’s lip curled in a sneer. He had no mercy for any were caught outside the rez. They’d had none for him.

“So, do you need to get your ass to the hospital?”

“Nah, I can patch myself up for now, I’ve already taken my meds, but I’ll follow up with my booster shot like a good little hunter. First thing tomorrow, I'm going to head into town and lean on the LEOs, hard. The man had a full time job, fake ID, credit cards, the works. I’ll send you all the details in my report. Someone here had to have suspected something before now; he's been living here too long not to have screwed up somewhere along the line, they just didn't report him. If it wasn’t for tourists in the area calling in the wolf sighting, we never would have found out about it. Somebody in town had to have been helping him, and that pisses me off. If there are people here harboring known weres, I’ll rout them out.”

In the dim light of the small bathroom, Jensen methodically cleaned the wound and bound it for the night. Riding a mixture of aggravation, pain, and fatigue, he flicked off the light and limped toward his bedroom, the only other room in the cabin. Along with kicking some LEO ass tomorrow, he’d have to go see a local sawbones and get checked out. He’d been flung up against a tree during his tussle with the were, and a dead branch had gone through the meat of his thigh like a spear. He’d had to pull it out and he’d bled like a stuck pig. Jensen didn’t think there would be any permanent damage other than a scar, but he still need to get it checked.

He swallowed down the prescription silver booster meds every hunter traveled with. Not only did he have a hastily stitched up hole in his leg from the ill placed tree limb, but the were had scored four angry gashes across the back of his right calf above his boot line. They made a graphic addition to the shiny, ridged skin along his legs and ankles. The puncture hurt like a son of a bitch, but it was the claw marks he was worried about; they had turned a nasty red.

Wouldn’t that be the perfect end to this whole sorry mess, to get himself turned? He snorted at the thought and pinched the bridge of his nose. He couldn’t even imagine life on a rez, trapped shoulder to jowl with the kind he’d sworn to hunt down when he was six.

Unable to fall sleep right away, Jensen lay in bed, replaying the night's events in his mind's eye. He’d followed up a lead on the were's sighting, which had led him to Ty Olsson’s home, far off the main road outside Munter’s Gorge, Montana, a little town of less than two thousand, riding the rocky peaks of the Iron Ridge Mountains, fifty miles or so north of the state capital of Helena. Like most of this part of the state it was dirt poor, with subsistence farming and a few mining jobs providing most of the employment in the area. Munter’s Gorge was a town that had seen better days, but wasn’t quite on its heels yet. No nearby big box stores meant the old downtown strip still had charming little shops, and an old grocery. And though most tourists never made it this far up country to visit the town or its namesake Falls, where the Iron Ridge River plummeted over a hundred feet to rocks below, the place had a picturesque, sleepy charm.

He’d been working his way outward in concentric circles from the initial sighting point, and was now more than twenty-five miles out. Jensen had been ready to admit the case had grown cold. Olsson, a local mechanic, was the last name on his list for the day. Jensen had already decided that if this interview didn’t result in some fresh leads, he was going to call it quits and close the case. After almost two weeks of interviews and tracking, this was the most invisible were Jensen had ever heard of, or had ever hunted. He was starting to think the tourists who had reported the "sightings" had been enjoying a little too much of the local brew.

He’d never expected things to go sideways so fast. Two hard raps on the door, and it was eased open by a big white male in his middle thirties, still in his work coveralls. Introductions had gone fine, it was only Olsson flinching when he shook Jensen’s outstretched hand that made Jensen realize he’d gotten this all wrong.

Smoke rose from Jensen’s gloved hand as soon as the silver embedded in the leather had touched Olsson’s skin. Snarling, the shifter had quickly sprung back, his pale blue eyes already beginning to glow as he slammed the door in Jensen’s face. Blinking, startled for a half a breath, Jensen swore softly. He must be getting old, because he sure hadn’t seen that coming. He could almost hear Williams laughing at him already. Rolling his eyes, Jensen stepped back a pace and kicked open the door. He followed Olsson inside, his gun drawn as he moved carefully, clearing one room after another on the ground floor.

“Federal Marshal," Jensen called. "Give up peaceably and we’ll take you back to the rez. You’ll face your charges there.” Briefly, he heard yelling and muffled cries from the second floor, the sound of little feet – This was a den! Jensen paused a second, considering calling for backup. But as far off the beaten track as he was, it would be hours before help arrived. Swearing softly, he started carefully up the old wooden stairs. This would not be pretty or easy, and Jensen hated it when they brought cubs into the equation. A squeak of the old pine floorboards had him pivoting to his left, looking toward the kitchen. Somehow, Olsson had gotten back downstairs and behind him. Jensen looked up to see him suddenly silhouetted in plain sight at the open back door.

Jensen yelled out, “Hey, stop! I’m warning you.”

“Go to hell, hunter,” the were's voice was already half-growl. His bulky outline started to shimmer and change before Jensen’s eyes. Parts moved and rearranged as he slipped into wolf form almost instantly, and darted out the door. That fast a change took strength, and meant Jensen was definitely dealing with an alpha with no small amount of power.

Jensen followed him out into the moonlit back yard, swearing. Just typical that he’d end up stumbling over a full-grown alpha on a full moon. The moon would lend the were even more strength. Jensen cursed, shaking his head. Normally, he’d have taken extra precautions at this point in the lunar cycle, but he hadn't suspected this last stop would actually turn into something. Typical, just his luck.

Flames suddenly illuminated the darkness, and Jensen barreled around the end of the house to find an old outbuilding on fire. Sparks drifted through the night air, blowing toward the house. He’d have to call the fire department; a small fire like this could spread rapidly, after the long dry summer they’d had and burn the whole area down. He had turned to look back at the blaze when he heard a low growl. Outlined in the flickering flames stood a snarling mass of angry teeth and muscle.

“I’m warning you, step back!” Jensen raised his gun.

The wolf stepped forward.

Resigned to things going the hard way, Jensen toggled his gun to ‘tangler’ and squeezed the trigger between heartbeats. The tangler dart flew straight, extending tendrils of ultra-strong silver-embedded carbon fiber into a wide capture net that should have stopped the were cold in his tracks. With amazing speed, even for his kind, the wolf easily avoided the silver net, and lunged toward Jensen, plowing into him with the strength of a freight train.

His Stetson going in one direction, Jensen’s body in the other, he had flown through the air, to smack full-length against a tree trunk. Pain pierced his leg like a burning poker had been run through it. He slid to the ground, the world spinning, and heard a menacing snarl. He raised his head as a grey blur leaped straight at him.

Honed reflexes kicked in and his grip tightened on the gun he’d somehow kept hold of. He thumbed the switch to silver and fired. The loud blast of the gun seemed inconsequential to the juggernaut bearing down on him. Jensen continued to fire, finger pulling on the trigger again and again. Teeth and claws kept coming, straight at him.

The massive beast howled and crashed abruptly to the ground, mere inches from where Jensen slumped at the base of the tree. It rolled and thrashed, snarling in pain, claws catching the bottom of Jensen’s wounded leg, shredding leather and flesh. Jensen’s finger tightened automatically on the trigger once again, but nothing happened. He’d already emptied the entire barrel into the dying were.

With a final gurgled whine, the light went out of the were's pale blue eyes as it died. The body shimmered and blurred, wolf shape twisting and reforming back into that of a man. Jensen watched, transfixed, as in awe of the change now as he had been twenty-five years ago, when he’d seen his first were shift.

Jensen struggled to his feet and hobbled over to inspect the body. The were was definitely dead. Four of the six rounds Jensen fired had entered the chest, at least one of them catching the wolf’s heart. He noted with disappointment, but not surprise, that this was not ‘his were’; all five toes were present on his left foot. Offering up a silent prayer to whoever might be listening, Jensen gently closed Olsson's glassy, lifeless eyes.

A brightening of the night sky alerted him to the fact that the fire had spread. Jensen had gone immediately into the house to get Olsson’s family out, but he’d found no one. The sonofabitch had boobytrapped the whole house. Dodging the rising flames, Jensen scoured the house for additional clues. After more than a few close calls, and choking on smoke, he’d discovered the tunnel they’d carved out in the basement of the house. The mate and cubs must have escaped that way while the alpha sacrificed himself to keep Jensen occupied.

Coughing and wheezing from the fumes, Jensen finally found himself standing in the field where the tunnel opened out, about a hundred feet from the house. He had put in a call to the local PD for fire and backup. He ripped off his undershirt, wrapped his bleeding leg in a makeshift tourniquet, and limped back toward the house. Lips thinning with pain, he bent to retrieve his battered Stetson, and then hobbled the rest of the way to his truck. Methodically, he broke out his Lycus epipen and injected himself at the site of the wound. It was only claw marks, no bodily fluids had been exchanged, but there were no old, careless Marshalls. When it came to the Lycus virus you could never be too careful.

He did a quick triage of his wounds: both the hole the tree limb had speared through him, and the claw marks. He’d seen worse. He used his field med gun to staple up the holes in his thigh, front and rear, and slapped meds pads on them, as well as another on the four furrows in his calf. There was no way he was getting back to the local hospital in less than half an hour. He’d simply chance that the branch had missed anything vital. Reloading the pen and packing his kit away, his next task was to call the marshal’s office to request a full workup on Olsson for the morning. Then there was nothing much left to do but move his truck to safety and wait for everyone to arrive.

When the LEOs and fire department finally appeared on the scene, Jensen made note of the fact that no one looked particularly surprised that fellow citizen Ty Olsson had been a were. The local police chief, Jim Beaver, an older man with shrewd, pale blue eyes, had given Jensen a long, hard look and grimaced as they’d loaded the body on a stretcher.

“Huh! So Ty was a shifter, was he? Who’d a thunk?” Beaver side-eyed Jensen speculatively. “So, what’s next?”

“As far as background, I’m having a full workup on Olsson emailed to me by morning, but if you could, have your people flesh out the details: places he frequented, known associates, things that won’t be in his formal file? The Marshal’s office takes a dim view of anybody harboring weres. I want to know who was in this den. I heard children. His record says there's a wife, Taylor – she goes by another name, Cole, not Olsson – and two children. They need to be quarantined and tested for the Lycus gene. There may have been other individuals here,we know they run in packs. I want to know about any other known associates that could have been part of this den. We didn’t win the great war to lose it bit by bit. We need to find them and determine if they should be turned over to the rez.”

“Maybe that’s where Taylor went?" Beaver speculated. "I know some of her people were from out of town. Maybe she’s gone back to the rez on her own with the kids.”

“Maybe, but my experience has been, they never return voluntarily to the rez. She’s probably holed up with friends right here in town, and I want to know who. I’ll also put in a call to the local rez in the morning, Bighorn Reservation, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, it’s about two hundred and fifty, three hundred miles southeast of here.” Beaver’s mouth tightened like he smelt something bad.

Jensen watched him speculatively. Maybe he’d need to keep a closer eye on the seemingly harmless sheriff. And it looked like a drive out to the rez couldn’t be avoided. Damn.

Comments always appreciated ^^

 


	2. Stranger in a strange town

 

Jensen’s leg hurt like hell in the morning, and the knot on his head, where it had ricocheted off the tree, throbbed in time with his pulse. Groaning, he sat on the edge of the bed and looked blearily out the window as the sky started to lighten. Outside the warm cocoon of his blankets, his skin soon chilled in the cool of air in the cabin. He rubbed his arms and shivered. Coffee, he needed coffee, and he needed it now, damn it.

 

First things first, he put the kettle on to boil and went back to the bedroom to get dressed. He looked longingly at the shower, as he tugged his black jeans on carefully over his wounded leg. Until his leg was looked at professionally, though, he didn’t think he should risk getting it wet. It took a bit of doing, but he got his pants up, and zipped. Shirt in hand, he rolled his shoulders to work out some of the stiffness while he made up a cup of instant. He grimaced at the raw taste. He missed his coffeemaker back home in Dallas, it was one of his few guilty pleasures.

He buttoned up the black shirt and pinned on the silver badge of the Hunter Division of the Marshals' office. He tried another desultory sip of his coffee while he checked his email before giving up and pouring the rest down the drain.

He recalled the small coffee shop he’d seen in town. He’d thought it a bit too fake urban chic for his tastes, but everywhere else he’d tried so far had pretty terrible coffee. At this point he had nothing to lose. He was dying for a decent cup of brew. And if he was going to be stuck in town for a while longer, maybe he could pick up some real coffee, and filters there for the machine he’d spied earlier, sitting neglected in the cupboard. He could almost taste the drip coffee now. Tugging on his black leather gloves, he grabbed up his hat and the keys to his truck, and headed out.

 

He pulled up in front of The Wired Bean, smiling a little at the cheezy name. Pushing open the antique glass entry door, the décor inside was as quirky as the name suggested, with orange and lime green booths, comfy chairs, and discreet lighting. In fact, the whole vibe of the place was surprisingly upscale in comparison to the general dilapidated feel to the rest of the downtown strip. He wondered why he’d been so averse to dropping in.

Already, this early in the morning, several patrons were ensconced in the chairs, reading the daily paper and sipping their latte’s – which smelled amazing. There was a long, clear glass case that held pastries and snacks of all descriptions, more at home in a bistro in LA than in dusty, backwoods Montana, and Jensen wondered where they would even source such goodies. Diamond-pattered wallpaper covered the wall behind the counter, which was dominated by a giant chalk board, complete with a funky handwritten menu in different colored chalk, currently being updated by an equally giant man.

Even the tall, lanky young man had to stand on tiptoes to reach the lettering of the pie section on the big board. Jensen had to admit, his long, elegant fingers certainly knew their way around a piece of chalk, as witnessed by today’s specials come to life on the wall. The man hummed slightly off key as he worked.

Goaded by the delicious aroma, and anxious to partake of his first real cup of coffee of the day, Jensen looked around for help, but the only person at the cash register seemed to be the sasquatch. Growing anxious for his fix, Jensen coughed.

Startled out of his chalk fugue, the giant turned around instantly, in obvious surprise at Jensen’s presence.

Jensen simply stared, his mouth suddenly gone exceedingly dry.

The man’s longish, floppy brown hair curled around his face. Twinkling green-blue eyes tilted up at the corners gave the giant a foxlike look, and sharp, angular features would guarantee the man, somewhere in his late twenties if Jensen had to guess, a modeling job anywhere on the planet. Jensen couldn’t look away.

“Oh, right, sorry,”the man sputtered, flustered. He set down his chalk and stepped over to the till. “I-I get kind of involved. And all my regulars are already here, so I thought I was safe…” Dimples blossomed on the big man’s face and Jensen felt a strange hitch in his breathing. “But that’s no excuse, and I’m talking way, way too much. I kind of do that when I’m nervous. What can I get for you… umm, Marshal?”

The man’s smile faltered slightly as he squinted at Jensen’s silver badge.

Bemused by the man’s obvious fluster, Jensen extended his gloved hand. “Marshal Jensen Ackles, hunter. I’m here for a while, investigating a case.”

“Oh…ah.” The man started to raise his hand, then paused as he noticed the chalk dust covering both of them. “Maybe a rain check on the shake,” he grinned, nervously wiping his hands on his black apron in a futile effort to get the dust off.

Jensen winced at the rainbow streaks now covering the formerly clean black cloth. The man seemed to notice the mess he was making and grabbed up a damp clothto scrub at the material. Finally sighing and giving up, he shrugged and focused back on Jensen.

“I’m Jared, Jared Padalecki, owner, proprietor, chief cook, and bottle washer at The Wired Bean. What can I get for you?”

Jared stared at Jensen expectantly, and Jensen was finding it hard to concentrate. His gaze pinned stupidly on the man’s lips and the pink dart of his tongue as he licked them nervously.

“What?” Jensen asked as the silence stretched out.

Jared’s teeth started to nibble at his lower lip, and his shoulders twitched nervously. “I’ve never waited on a Hunter before. What can I get for you, sir?”

Jensen resisted the urge to look around and see who Jared was talking to. His brain finally kicked back into gear and words started to rush out. “Please, it’s Jensen. And, coffee. I need coffee.”

“Regular, dark, light? I’ve got exotics.” Jared gestured toward the extensive board. And Jensen stared at it hopelessly. “Never mind.” A twinkle appeared in Jared’s eyes, “You know, I think I’ve got it. I think you’re a dark roast man, am I right? Black, no sugar?”

Jensen nodded and almost whimpered when Jared set a cup on the counter of what turned out to be the most delicious tasting dark roast to pass his lips in weeks. He may also have uttered a slight moan, because Jared started to chuckle.

“What?” Jensen looked at Jared, a little bemused, and since when had the breadth of his vocabulary been reduced to one word.

“That’ll be a dollar twenty-five. Don’t want to be accused of bribing police.”

Dimples struck like lightning and in a daze, Jensen dug into the pocket of his jeans, fished out two crumpled dollar bills and a quarter, one bill he stuffed in the funky hand made ceramic fish mug on the counter labeled ’tip,’ the other he laid on the counter with the quarter and tried to flatten out the bill.

“There you go,” Jensen said, a smile stretching across his face at being able to string more than two words together, and pushed the money across the counter toward Jared.

“Um great, thanks. Have a seat, make yourself at home.” Jared waved towards the seating area. “Let me know if there's anything else you need." Jared gave a brief smile and started to turn back towards his chalkboard.

“Well actually, there is.” Jensen found the words rushing over his lips before his brain engaged. He didn’t want Jared to turn away.

“I was tracking a were sighting here in town.” Jensen’s eyes were focused on Jared’s face so it was hard to miss the flinch and look of worry that flitted by when Jensen mentioned the were. He rushed to explain, “We caught him, no worries on that count. Ty Olsson won’t be bothering anyone again, but he had a mate, and cubs, I think, maybe other members of his pack. We’re trying to find them.”

Jared’s eyes were wide, and he took a small step back from the counter. “Ty was a were? Oh no, that means Taylor, the kids…you, you won’t hurt them will you?”

“Hurt them?” Jensen replied dumbly, his words disappearing as quickly as Jared’s smile. “No, no, nothing like that. I just need to find them, before they hurt anyone. Get them tested. See if they belong on the rez or not. That’s all.”

Jensen waited for Jared’s smile to return, but the tall man’s lips had narrowed to a thin line. “I – I don’t know. I mean, sure I knew Ty a little, he moved into town about nine, ten years back. I know Taylor better, we went to school together and, it’s a small town, everyone knows everyone. And I know Aaron and Patrick, her boys. But I have no idea where they would be if they’re not at the house, or in school. I know Taylor worked from home for the wool store. She was really creative and did all their web graphics. She even helped me with the décor of my shop!” Mournful puppy dog eyes looked up at him. “You won’t hurt them if you do find them, right?”

“You have my word on it.” Jensen laid his hand over his badge and tipped his head solemnly. “And I’d never lie to someone who makes such magnificent coffee. Besides, I need to buy at least a pound of this delicious blend so I can make some at home.”

Jared smiled shakily and went to grind the beans. When he returned, he pushed a lemon scone and the bag of roast coffee across the counter at Jensen. “Here, on the house. I made the scones fresh this morning. And the blend is my own secret recipe, but I’m sure you’ll like it.”

“You know this could be considered bribing an official, right?”

Nodding, Jared gave him a lop sided smile, “Yes, but now that I’ve got you hooked on my coffee, I’m assured of returning business. You wouldn’t want to arrest your dealer would you? Cut off your supply?”

With a mock grimace and mournful shake of his head, Jensen conceded Jared’s slightly fanciful logic. “You’ve got me.” Jensen’s hands wrapped tightly around the bag of coffee and he smirked. “But I’m on to you now. I’ve got my eye on you,” he cautioned as he loaded up his booty. He promised himself, next visit he’d give himself enough time to take a seat and savor his brew in one of the comfy, oversized chairs.

Jared nodded and with a small smile returned deliberately to his board. Jensen didn’t think it was his imagination that the man’s hands shook a little as they started to draw again.

 

“Well, I’m trying to tell you, I have no idea where she’d go. I’ve got a BOLO out on her car, and photos of her and the kids have been released throughout the state. Not sure what else I can do here, Marshal.” Beaver shook his head, obviously disgruntled.

Jensen was perched on the corner of Beaver’s desk. He knew he was pushing the sheriff hard, but he had a niggling suspicion, and things weren’t adding up.

A soft knock on his door and a tall man in his early forties entered without waiting.

“The report you asked for, sir.” The man’s voice was soft, but his gaze was calculating as he looked Jensen over.

“Oh thanks, Mark. Marshal, this is Deputy Mark Pellegrino, my second in command. Mark, this is Jensen Ackles, he’s the one who brought Ty down last night.”

Mark nodded and handed the file to Beaver, standing at parade rest, hands behind his back. “We didn’t see that one coming, Marshal. We all thought Ty was just a drifter who had finally found a home. Pulled one over on us.”

Pellegrino shook his head and gestured at the file, “You should find everything you requested, here. We had to pull it together pretty fast, so there may be a few holes. Essentially, Taylor Cole is originally from Munter’s Gorge, and has several ties to the community. We sent units to her sister, Felicia Day’s place this morning, but we found nothing. The sister said she didn’t know anything and hadn’t heard from Taylor in a couple of days. The sisters have an aunt, Kim Rhodes. We sent a unit out to visit her as well, but no one was home. Kim runs a small sheep farm quite a ways out of town, up at Iron Ridge Pass, and had already gone for the day. We can send another unit out tonight, but the officer looked around and as far as he could tell, nobody was on the premises. We’d need a search warrant for more. As far as our records show, neither Ty nor his wife have any other immediate family in the area. Will there be anything else, sir?”

“No, that’s great son. And right in time for lunch. You two care ‘ta join me?”

As if on cue, Jensen’s stomach growled in agreement. It had been a long time since that lemon scone.

Pellegrino shook his head, “Sorry, sir, got a date with a status report I have to get done. Another time. Marshal.” Pellegrino nodded at Jensen, and left.

Jensen nodded back and watched the deputy leave. With two young children and an aunt and a sister nearby, he would lay odds on Taylor staying close to home. It was only a matter of time until she was spotted, andhis money was on the sister. He rubbed his hands together and turned to Beaver. “I’m certainly up for it. Sounds good. Where to? I’ve tried a few places since I’ve been here, but I saw a pretty good looking lunch menu over at The Wired Bean.”

“Huh? Well that’s a great place, too. How’d you hear about it?” Beaver looked a little impressed.

“I’d been driving by it for the last two weeks and finally decided to give it a try. Munter’s Gorge isn’t that big, it kind of stands out. I was getting kind of sick of the food at McG’s Truck stop and Singer’s restaurant out by the freeway. Now I feel sort of foolish that I hadn’t stopped off there right from the jump.”

“Yeah, Jared’s not quite in step with everyone else, but he does make a mean coffee and dessert. No, I was more thinking Darcy’s Pub, but it’s your call, son.”

Unwilling to admit to himself that he’d like another look at the long, lean chief cook and bottle washer, Jensen shrugged, “Darcy’s Pub sounds fine, I haven’t been there, either.”

“We can take my truck,” Beaver offered as they left the building. His blue eyes took note as Jensen limped beside him. “You get that checked out?”

“Yeah, earlier this morning." The doctor visit had been about as painful as Jensen had expected. But there had been no tendon or nerve damage, and the sawbones simply cleaned up Jensen's stitch job from the previous night. The topical anesthetic was starting to wear off now, though, and Jensen’s leg throbbed "I already took my meds, no fear. I’m not going to wolf out on you.”

“No, we wouldn’t want that.” Beaver replied dryly.

“So, how long had Olsson been living in the Gorge?” Jensen asked, through a mouthful of the most delicious roast beef sandwich he’d had in years. He took another bite before reluctantly setting it down so he could thumb through the background report on Olsson and his family that Beaver had brought along.

“I’m sure it’s in the report, but I think it was about ten years back, he arrived. He met Taylor at the drugstore. She’d been working there as a clerk there since high school while she did night courses in web design. It seemed like no time before they was married. Ty got a job as a mechanic at Morgan's Garage, and worked there pretty much ever since he moved here. After Taylor’s kids got old enough she started working from home for the Iron Ridge Woolen Company. Both seemed pretty happy. I never had more than a lick of trouble with Ty. Sure, once in a while he drank a little too much, but it's still kinda hard to believe he was a were.”

“Humph. Well, I’ll start by going over to Morgan’s after lunch. It says here that Taylor’s parents were killed in a car accident a few years ago, but maybe I'll nose around her last two employers and see if there's anyone there that she's been in contact with since last night.”

As he sipped the last of his coffee, Beaver looked over at Jensen speculatively. “How long you been at this, son?”

After grabbing another quick bite, Jensen hastily dabbed sauce off his face before answering. “Been a Federal Marshal about twelve years now. Recruited right out of university.”

“Always been a hunter?”

Jensen looked out the window. “Yes, it’s why I signed up.”

“You lose someone?” Beaver said gently.

Jensen swallowed, caught off guard by the question.

“Yeah, as a matter of fact, but that’s not why I do what I do. I don’t believe the weres have a right to change people the way they do. No one asks to be a were, but they shift unsuspecting humans all the time. It’s not right to steal a person’s life away like that. And I’ve worked my ass off sending each and every one of them back to the rez, where they can’t hurt anyone.”

“That simple huh?” Beaver’s lips twisted, but he didn’t volunteer more.

Jensen stood up and tossed a couple of bills on the table. “I think we’re about done here.”

Parked outside Morgan’s garage in his black federal issue Land Rover, Jensen knew he wasn’t the picture of stealth, but he needed a few minutes to regroup.

Beaver had dropped him off at the station with a muttered, “Gotta go do the rounds.” Jensen was finding it increasingly difficult to believe the sheriff didn’t know more than he was telling, but so far, he’d been a model of efficiency and helpfulness. Jensen didn’t have a thing on him.

One of the garage doors started to open and a tall, forty-something man in grey coveralls backed an old Dodge truck out from the bay. He turned the keys over to a plaid-shirted customer and stood there in the yard, wiping his hands with a rag. Jensen could tell he was scoping out Jensen's truck. Muttering to himself, the man headed back inside, presumably to work on the car in the second bay.

Easing out of his truck, Jensen limped his way over to the garage. He hadn’t seen anyone working in the small office off to the side, so he went directly to the second bay, pulling on his black gloves.

“Hello?” Jensen called out.

“Yeah, over here.” A muffled voice called back.

Jensen rounded the rear end of the late model Ford sedan to see a pair of legs sticking out from under the car.

“Gimme a second,” came the request, from under the car.

Jensen gazed around: typical small garage, two bays, nothing especially suspicious. Except, how could Ty being a were go unnoticed for the last decade by this man? The squeak and trundle of the dolly's wheels brought Jensen’s attention back to Morgan.

“What can I do for you…Marshal?” Morgan grunted as he heaved himself onto his feet. Broad shouldered, and topping Jensen’s six foot one, Morgan was trim and fit. Up close, Jensen was able to confirm his initial guess that the man was in his early forties, with beard and hair going silver.

“Marshal Ackles, Hunter division,” Jensen said by way of introduction. He didn't bother trying to shake Morgan’s hand, as the man was again attempting to rub oil or grime off his hands. “You Jeffrey Dean Morgan?”

“Yup, that’s me. What do you need, Marshal? Hope it ain’t in a rush, I’ve got a busted gas tank that needs replacing today, or Mrs. Hastings is going to have my ass, and I’m a man short.”

“It’s about Ty Olsson.”

“Yeah? Sorry, can’t help you, Ty didn’t show up for work today.” Morgan said as he rooted around through his tool chest.

“About that. I’m sorry to be the one to tell you this, but he won’t be coming in. He’s dead.”

A clatter of dropped tools, and Morgan turned to look at Jensen, his expression genuinely shocked. He took a few seconds to recover, sinking unsteadily onto the old oak stool next to the workbench, the soiled cleaning rag twisting in his hands.

“The hell you say? What happened?”

“Did you know, or suspect, that Ty was a were, Mr. Morgan?”

“A what?” Morgan’s eyebrows shot up and Jensen thought he was either a very good actor or very innocent. “Ty wasn’t a were,” he said emphatically.

“Well maybe not when you first met him, sir, but he most definitely was before he died, an alpha, and a strong one at that. So you had no idea? Nothing unusual? You never noticed him taking the days off on a full moon?”

Morgan’s brows beetled. “Well, honestly, it’s not something I would have even thought to keep track of. I don’t know. I never saw him sprout fur or fangs, if that’s what you’re asking. He was a model employee, been with me for close to ten years now. It’s kind of hard to believe. How are Taylor and the boys doing?" His eyes widened a little as he realized the probability. "Does that mean...”

“That they are probably weres, too? Yes, I’m afraid so.”

“Jesus. I–I don’t know what to say. Can I go see them?”

“Well, that’s more to the point of why I’m here, sir. They’ve disappeared, and for public safety reasons, I need to bring them in. Do you have any idea where they would go?”

Morgan started to run his hand through his hair then thought better of it and clasped his hands together. “I don’t know. Taylor has an older sister, Felicia, who works at the radio station. But I’ve known those girls all their lives, there’s no way either one of them’s a were. That’s just not possible.”

Jensen nodded sympathetically. He’d known about the sister, but wondered if Morgan would admit to it.

“Other than the sister, any other guesses where she might have gone?”

Morgan looked up at him, hazel eyes dark with worry. “I’m sorry. I can’t really think of anything right now.”

“Here’s my card if you do happen to think of something. I’d appreciate your help on this. We need to keep this problem contained.” Jensen laid the card down on the workbench and Morgan nodded, still wringing his grease rag in his hands.

Jensen, could see the gears in the man’s head starting to turn as he straightened himself in his chair. “Beggin’ your pardon, but Ty wasn’t a problem to be contained. He was a good man, Marshal, a good father to his kids, and I know he loved Taylor. He worked with me for ten years and never cheated, or lied about anything, as far as I know. If that’s a typical were, I’d take one of them over some of the humans I’ve known any day of the week.”

Jensen’s mouth tightened as he stared at the grieving man. “I’m sorry for your loss, Mr. Morgan, but the law's the law. It’s here to protect us.”

Jensen pulled up to the radio station, KAWL. According to his files, Felicia Day was the older sister by five years, and had been working at the station since coming back from community college in Great Falls.

The station was located in the old downtown strip, only a couple of blocks down from The Wired Bean. Jensen hummed in satisfaction at the idea of dropping by the place again before he headed home. He’d seen several kinds of pie up on the big board, and if they were anywhere as good as the scone he’d had this morning, he’d be a happy man. Seeing Jared would be no hardship, either.

Stepping into the converted store, Jensen’s ears were assaulted by rock music wailing through the office speakers. There were four or five desks set up, as well as an iron staircase spiraling up to a glassed-in loft. The ‘LIVE’ light was on, so Jensen assumed the broadcast booths were upstairs. Noticing him, a petite, slim redhead rushed to turn the office speakers down and came over to Jensen.

Jensen took off his Stetson.

“What can I do for you, Marshal?” She said nervously, wringing her hands.

Jensen stuck his gloved hand out and she tentatively took it. “Marshal Ackles, and I’m looking for Felicia Day.”

“Oh, I’m Julie McNiven, station co-ordinator. You must be here about Felicia's sister. Felicia’s up in the broadcast booth right now, but she’s due for a break. I’ll let her know you’re here.”

Jensen arched an eyebrow. He always forgot how fast news got around in small towns. Tapping his hat against his leg as he waited, Jensen strolled around the office. A few minutes later, Julie came down the steps, with another petite redhead, this one wearing a wild pink cardigan, purple crinoline skirt, and black and white striped Pippi Longstocking leggings, ending in spectacularly bright green, high heeled sneakers. Felicia, Jensen made a wild guess.

"Thanks, Julie!" the redhead waved a yellow-gloved hand as the station co-ordinator went back to her desk, and Felicia came to meet Jensen. “Marshal Ackles, is it? How can I help you?” She gazed up at Jensen in his black Hunter garb, the silver hunter badge hanging from its chain around his neck. He felt like the dark undertaker to her hummingbird.

“Yes. Ms. Day? I’m here to talk to you about your sister.”

Felicia nodded, her manner starkly sober, in contrast with her flamboyant clothing. “Of course, but a deputy sheriff was here earlier this morning, asking about Taylor. I’ll tell you what I told them, I haven’t seen her. Or heard from her. Poor Ty. I kind of can’t believe it.” Felicia shuddered delicately. She gestured toward some seating by the big plate glass windows at the front. “Why don’t we have a seat?”

“So your sister didn’t call? Didn’t let you know her house burnt down and her husband was dead?”

Felicia shook her head slowly, and gave him a wide-eyed look. “I know, and normally we’re so close. She must be so scared. And those little boys…I hope they didn’t see anything…terrible.”

“Forgive me if I say, I find it hard to believe you haven’t spoken with her.” Jensen’s manner hardened. He’d seen some acting in his time, but this girl was ‘ _acting_.’

“Well, I’m sorry if you don’t believe me, but even if I did know, I’m hardly going to rush to give up my baby sister to a Federal Hunter. All you care about is dragging her and the kids to the rez. You probably didn’t even try to arrest Ty, just shot him down in his tracks.” Felicia’s smile lost its remaining friendliness, and her gaze hardened.

Jensen decided he wouldn't want to run into her in a dark alley. “Ma’am. I’ll have you know, Ty was given more than enough chances to surrender. He was unwilling, but I can assure you, I did try.”

“Sure, from behind the barrel of your gun. I know how the Hunter Division operates.”

“So would it do any good to leave you my card? Threaten you with obstruction of justice?” Jensen stood, and stared down at the defiant woman. At least there was a sense of truth in what she was saying now. The acting had mercifully stopped.

“You can leave it. I’ll just throw it out when you’re gone. Maybe burn it.” Felicia smirked defiantly.

“Well, thank you for your help, Ms. Day.”

As Jensen limped to the door, Felicia called out, “Marshal, wait!” She rushed up to him and grabbed his arm. She stared up at him, her expression fearful. “You won’t – you won’t hurt her, or the boys, will you?”

Jensen laid his gloved hand on hers and gently removed her hand from his arm. “We’re trying not to, ma’am. When you talk to her, tell her to turn herself in. It'll go a lot easier on her and those boys if they come in voluntarily."

Leaving the radio station, Jensen tugged off his gloves, stuffing them in his back pocket. He sagged into his seat once he got in the truck and popped a couple of the painkillers the doc had given him. His leg hurt worse than he would have hoped. Interviewing Taylor’s employers would have to wait for another day. Wearily, he pulled out his phone and dialed the sheriff’s direct line.

“Beaver here.” Jim’s gruff voice came on the line.

“It’s Ackles. I finished interviewing the sister, and I’m sure she’s hiding something. Do you have enough men to set up surveillance on her, especially at night, follow her? I’m sure Taylor will contact her. I’m going to put in a request with the Hunter Division for phone surveillance. It should come through by tomorrow.”

Beaver whistled. “By tomorrow, huh? We don’t get service that fast through the DOJ. You Hunters get all the good toys.”

Jensen smiled and rubbed his sore leg. He needed to sit down. “Yeah, that’s us. So, can you do the surveillance?”

“Yeah, I can have a patrol on her 24/7 for at least a week.”

“Great! And if she goes anywhere, don’t do anything, just have them follow her. We need to find out where Taylor and the kids are holed up. I can do a shift tomorrow night myself. I just really need to get off this leg right now.”

“Yeah, you do that, son. We can work it out in more detail tomorrow.”

“Sounds good. Thanks.”

: : :

He drove past The Wired Bean on his way to the cabin, thinking he might drop by to pick something up to eat. The shop was still open. He could see a young blond man at the cash through the shop's big plate glass front windows. He gripped the wheel a little tighter, still thinking about it. But with his bag of coffee safe and sound by his side, he decided rather than make another stop, he’d just as soon head home and fix up something quick himself, and get off his leg.

The waning moonlight poured through the window that night, illuminating Jensen as he lay in his bed. He stared unseeing up at the ceiling, his mind a million miles away. He was running his hand loosely up and down his rapidly hardening cock, massaging his balls in his other hand, rolling them, just this side of painful.

_Jared leaned down over him, sweaty and naked, smelling of sugar and cinnamon and something Jensen couldn’t quite put his finger on. Jensen let go of his swelling cock and let his hands drop to the bedspread on either side of his body._

_Jared stared down at him hungrily and hummed in approval as he straddled Jensen’s hips. Jared’s green-blue eyes shone in the moonlight as he knelt up and reached behind to grasp Jensen’s cock. He stripped it a few times with his lube slick fingers, before lining it up with his own entrance. With a muffled groan, Jared rolled his hips down, taking Jensen’s dick inside in one long, slow slide. His hair flopped messily over his eyes, hiding them in the darkness; Jensen could only see Jared's teeth worrying at his bottom lip as Jensen bottomed out, inside him._

_The small sounds Jared was making as he started to grind up and down on Jensen's cock had Jensen close to coming undone. Jensen’s hands clenched hard on the covers as he watched as Jared’s eyes close, and his pink tongue darted out, licked along his bottom lip, a look of ecstasy on his angular features. Jared moaned as Jensen moved, rocking upward against Jared’s downward rhythm and his cock brushed across his sweet spot just right. Pleasure sparking, Jared squirmed and jerked and flung back his shoulders. His hair curled wet and damp around his face, and beads of sweat covered his body, glinting in the moonlight. Unable to stop himself, Jensen’s hands snaked out and grasped Jared's thighs in a bruising grip._

_Jared sat up, his thighs trembling with strain as he lifted himself almost off Jensen’s cock, before dropping back down with a satisfying grunt. Jared’s lips were swollen and red from worrying at them, and Jensen couldn’t resist pulling him down for a quick, messy kiss. Panting, his eyes squeezed tight in determination, Jared rode, and rode. Droplets of sweat landed on Jensen’s chest and arms, and Jensen’s eyelids slipped half closed as he watched Jared writhe above him._

_Whining, Jared hunched forward and grabbed Jensen by the shoulder to steady himself. He shuddered as he pushed himself up and down on Jensen’s fat shaft more quickly, his movements sloppy and desperate, now. Jared’s dick bounced, wet and leaking, between them, leaving a wet trail on Jensen’s stomach where it slapped against him. Wrapping his hand around Jared’s shaft, Jensen watched in fascination as the angry red head appeared and disappeared through his loosely clenched fist in time with Jared’s thrusts._

_A few strokes later, Jared came with a sharp cry, clenching down around Jensen as his hips jerked and shook. Come splattered warm and wet between them, and Jensen bucked up, coming deep in Jared’s warm passage. His answering shout, as he lost it, filled the room._

 

Panting, his body still shuddering in the aftermath, Jensen groaned as he grabbed some tissue from the nightstand. A wave of lassitude blanketed him and, weary and sated, he drifted off to sleep with the image of almond shaped eyes staring down at him.

Comments always appreciated ^^ A writer doesn't survive on Kudos alone : P

 


	3. Tall dark and java

[  
](http://meus-venator.livejournal.com/67191.html)

 

 

His leg wasn’t much better the next day. He’d gone too far, too long on it and he was paying for it now. Hobbling his way into the kitchen, he did at least have the prospect of starting his day with excellent coffee. He pulled the old coffee maker down from the cupboard and gave it a good scrub. Nature was fine and all, but he didn’t want to be sharing his java with an old mouse nest or some other leftover from one of the wilder denizens of the cabin over the years.

 

As the coffee maker burbled along, Jensen checked in with the sheriff by phone. It was decided he’d take the morning shift on the Day woman’s stakeout, relieving the previous night's crew. That suited Jensen just fine. With his leg still aching, he wasn’t up for much moving around, anyway. His plan set, he rustled up a hearty breakfast for himself, sneaking a first cup of The Wired Bean’s breakfast blend out of the coffee maker before it finished its cycle. Jensen savored the dark, strong taste of his first stolen sip. It was exactly the way he liked it, and he closed his eyes as it washed over his taste buds, and delicious warmth seemed to pour through him. He grinned like a kid with a new toy as he watched the pot fill.

It was notoriously hard to grab a bite or something to drink on an eight hour stakeout when you were running solo. He found two thermoses in the cupboards, washed them, too, and poured coffee in both of them, right up to the brim. Tempted as he was, he knew it would be dumb, and a bit obvious, to drop in to see Jared on the puny excuse of yet more coffee, or another crack at his bake case. No, he’d make do with Jared’s fresh, mouth-watering blend brewed up here at home. Next, he made a few sandwiches to tide him through the day, grabbed an apple for variety, and hit the road.

The Wired Bean looked busy as ever when he drove into town. Jensen continued on past, reluctantly, but promised himself some kind of dessert at the end of the day. He made a mental note to stop in earlier in the day this time, when Jared might still be there.

Jensen drove on, bemused by his sudden interest in the man. Maybe it was the pressure of the case, maybe he was just a little backed up and needed a fast hard fuck. It wasn’t like he’d had much free time to scope out the local bars to find someone for the night, but the idea of fucking the town's celebrity chef/model seemed like just the ticket. Always given, of course, that the man was gay. With looks like his, Jared must be used to getting offers. And it wasn’t like Jensen hadn’t received his fair share of hits over the years. He could let his hair down and have a little fun. After all, in a week, tops, he’d be gone, moved on to the next town, hunting the next were.

Before starting his shift, he checked in at the station to pick up a report Beaver had said was ready, but the sheriff was out.

“Can I help you, Marshal?” Pellegrino had lost none of his warmth from the previous day.

“Yes, I wanted to pick up the background report Beaver said was ready. Oh, and, has the BOLO brought in anything?”

Pellegrino looked like he’d tasted something sour, but the man was all business. “No, nothing’s come in so far. We do have the photos of Taylor and the children that Felicia provided. They are being circulated throughout the state. I was also planning on sending another cruiser to drop by the Rhodes ranch again, but if she moved the sheep up into the high country for one more pass before the snow starts, she could easily be gone for a week. How long, exactly, are we supposed to keep up this wild goose chase? Taylor could be anywhere by now. We’re a small department here, we don’t have the men and resources to keep this up indefinitely.”

“I understand, but Hunter Division jurisdiction gives me priority for at least the first two weeks of an open hunt. Consider your men reassigned for at least two shifts a day until time runs out, or we get lucky.”

“Well let’s hope we get lucky soon, sir.”

Pellegrino was hard to read, but Jensen could tell the deputy sheriff couldn’t wait to see the back of him. Spitefully, Jensen deliberately took his time perusing the report, even going as far as stopping to grab a sugary bear claw out of the box of donuts perched on the reception desk. He stood and finished the sweet as Pellegrino silently fumed beside him. Smirking, he licked the last of the icing off his fingertips and tipped his hat at Pellegrino. “Pleasure doin’ business with you, deputy,” before limping out to his truck.

Pellegrino wasn’t the first irritating ass Jensen had had to deal with, but he did leave a lasting impression. Jensen wondered if it was directed at him in particular, or at everyone in general.

Popping the truck into gear, he pulled out of the parking lot and headed over to the radio station to relieve the officers currently watching Felicia.

 

He nursed his sore leg, popped pain pills, and did crosswords in his Rover as he spent the day trailing Felicia. For a radio D.J., she made a surprising number of trips. There was an onsite broadcast promoting the station at a local Superstore in the morning. Then at lunch, she made a quick run to The Wired Bean, as well as several short errands on the way home to her apartment, an older two story brick walk up only a block or two back from the main drag. Jensen idled his truck to park in an alley opposite Felicia’s building with a good view of both the front and rear alley exits and settled in. He had another two hours on his shift before he was to be relieved. He checked in with Hunter Division, but the wiretap he’d ordered on Felicia’s land line and cell had come up with nothing incriminating so far, and there had been no hits on the BOLO. Jensen got as comfortable as his leg would allow to wait out his shift.

He dropped into the General Store for some extra supplies once his shift was over. Rather than drive, he decided to stow his purchases in his truck and walk the rest of the way to the coffee shop. Having been stuck in the truck all day, it seemed a good idea, but by the time he got to The Wired Bean his leg throbbed, and he was regretting his decision.

He caught sight of the shop’s sign up ahead, but as he got closer, he couldn’t make out Jared anywhere inside. Jensen stripped off his gloves and wiped his clammy palms on his jeans. Worst case, if he couldn't work off his itch with the lanky shop owner he’d seen a bar down the street. He could try his luck there.

He stared down at the ugly scars and shiny, puckered skin on his hands and debated putting his gloves back on, then thought better of it. If these few scars could turn a guy off, this wouldn’t work anyway. There were certainly more guys out there that it wouldn't matter to. He pushed open the antique glass door and made his way inside.

The tinkle of the bell on the door made a young blond man look up from behind the counter. “Welcome to the Wired Bean, Marshal,” the youth grinned.

“Ah, hi.” Jensen stopped mid tracks and stared stupidly at the youth. Of course Jared might not still be working, he knew it was a risk he ran coming after his surveillance shift was done, but for some reason, he’d been hopeful. Well, there was still time, the evening was young, he could scope out that bar.

“Um. Jared wouldn’t happen to still be here would he?”

“No, sir, sorry, he just left. Do you want me to call him?”

Jensen smiled sadly, and shook his head, the man didn’t have to work all the time, it was just…“No, no, don’t bother him. I can catch him tomorrow.”

“Oh, okay, Is there anything else I can help you with? Our dinner special is an awesome quiche, fresh baked, with a small salad on the side, and it comes with a slice of cherry pie. Jared makes a mean raspberry vinaigrette for the salad.”

The tinkle of the bell as the door opened behind him had Jensen swinging around on instinct.

“Tyler, I forgot to tell you, there’s a second tray of croissants in the back. Be sure to bring them out. Mr. Foley will be by for his evening tea, and he always likes a croissant.”

A smile was already creeping across Jensen’s face as he took in the broad, plaid-covered chest and wind-messed, longish hair, as Jared strode through the door, removing his sunglasses.

He stopped full on when he saw Jensen.

“Ah… hi!” Jared’s hand raised and then dropped to his side.

Jensen gaze traveled over him again, refamiliarising himself with Jared’s sasquatch proportions. His shoulders seemed even broader out in front of the counter, the lean taper of his hips, and his jeans riding low enough to make one wonder what was holding them up, made Jensen want to reach out and touch.

As the silence stretched on, Tyler jumped in. “Yeah, J-man, the marshal here was looking for you. But you’d already left.”

A tentative smile blossomed on Jared’s face and two spots reddened on his cheeks. “Oh!”

“Yes!” Jensen coughed, “Um, I was wondering about dinner.” Jensen hadn’t meant to say that, meant to simply invite the man for a beer, but it felt right as the words came out of his mouth.

“Well we have a great quiche…” Jared trailed off.

“Umm, no,” Jensen bit back a smile at Jared’s naiveté. Had the man never been hit on before? If another person mentioned quiche he was going to scream. “I know it’s kind of short notice, but I’m here, and I just thought of it, and…” Jensen watched in amusement as Jared grew redder and redder, “I’d like you to come with me?”

Jared’s almond eyes widened incrementally, and Jensen could see the man’s throat working.

Jensen suddenly realized what he had said, and rushed in. “Not come with me as in work or an order. I meant, would you like to grab a bite to eat with me?” Jensen ruefully rubbed at the stubble covering his jaw. So much for a smooth pick up. “It’s been a long day and my tongue isn’t working right. I’m obviously going into hypoglycemic shock, I need food. I’d like your company, but…It’s okay if you’re busy. I was just…”

“NO!” the words seemed to explode out of Jared.

Jensen looked down and tried to hide his disappointment. “Okay I under–”

Jared rushed to interrupt. “No, no you don’t, I mean — Yes! No, I’m not too busy, and yes, I’d like to have dinner with you.” Jared ran his hand through his hair, his chest rising and falling like he’d run a mile.

Jensen smiled, a little dazzled by the sight.

Tyler coughed and muttered, “I’ll just go get those croissants, why don’t I?”

Jared glanced at the young man as he left, then looked back at Jensen with a mischievous smile. “Smart boy. I knew there was a reason I hired him. That, and he’s my nephew.” Jared laughed, and something twisted funny in Jensen’s gut. He wanted to make Jared laugh more often.

“So, um, where should we go, or should we stay here?” Jensen glanced around at the few free booths in the shop.

“No, I want to go somewhere else. I love my stuff, but I’m here all day. How about…Hmm, there’s a little Indian place down a couple of blocks, I swear their butter chicken is the best. Especially great for the hypoglycemic.”

“Sure.” Jensen smile dimmed a little as he thought about walking more blocks. He wished he’d driven his truck closer. Manning up, Jensen limped forward to the door. He held it open, swept off his Stetson and bowed with a flourish. “Lead on, McDuff!”

Jared eyed his leg thoughtfully. “I’ve got my car right outside. We can drive.”

“Oh God, that would be wonderful.”

Three helpings of butter chicken later, and even Jared was finally ready to admit he was full.

“Man, that was good.” Jared rubbed his belly appreciatively and leaned back in his chair, smiling shyly at Jensen.

Jensen had finished a while ago, and watched in bemused fascination as Jared ate. It had been a while since he’d seen someone eat with such apparent gusto. Jensen’s legs sprawled under the table as he squirmed to accommodate his growing erection. Witnessing Jared eat opened up a whole new facet of food porn. Jensen looked forward to slowly feeding him his stiffening cock later on.

“What? I’m a growing boy.” Jared said with a smirk.

“Grow much taller and you won’t fit through doors.” Jensen quipped back.

“I take after my dad and brother, they’re even taller than me. Well were, my dad passed away, so did my mom. My brother’s still fine though, still looming over me.” Jared laughed lightly.

“Sorry about your mom and dad.”

“Oh it was a long time ago and my dad and I never really got on. Besides I have a rather extended family, I’m far from alone. And there’s always my brother looking out after me.”

Jensen watched as Jared’s smile start to return at mention of his brother and eased the conversation onto a less touchy topic. He knew all about the heartache of losing family.

Discussion was animated and lively throughout the meal. He learned that Jared had always wanted to be a pastry chef, and for a while had gone to school and worked in L.A., but he had missed his home. In the end, he’d decided to come back to Montana, and bring his expertise with him.

“So now I also have a side business with a couple of ladies working for me that provides fresh croissants and pastries to several adjoining towns. It’s hard to get fresh-baked dessert goods here. So I kind of have a corner on the market.” Jared smiled.

“What does your family think about your success?” Jensen asked as he sipped his beer and plotted how to move this discussion along to the bedroom.

“Things with my family are sort of complicated. I think they’d all rather I not be running a business at all, but I love it and I’m not giving it up for anyone. They don’t actually live in town, they live about forty miles north of here at the pass, but I get to see them pretty regularly.” Jared’s hands fluttered nervously and Jensen chastised himself, conversation about family wasn’t conducive to getting in a guy's pants.

Conscious of some of the dirty looks he’d been getting from other patrons during the meal, dressed in his marshal uniform and silver star, Jensen had to ask, “So, why did you agree to go out with me tonight? I mean the rest of the town has been, shall I say, less than welcoming. Why be so nice to me?” Jensen smirked, the sympathy card always worked.

“Honestly, you looked kind of lonely. And I know you appreciate my coffee, and you meet the height requirement.” Jared smiled. “And maybe I’m a little lonely, too. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not sure I’m such a fan of who you work for. In fact, I’m pretty sure I’m not on board with our whole approach to weres in this country, I think the government has been grossly negligent in their treatment of weres, and should reexamine their policies.”

Jared took a long swallow of beer, and Jensen watched his throat ripple as he swallowed. “A few brutal packs leading a rebellion thirty years ago shouldn’t condemn a whole race to a substandard existence in those squalid death camps they call reservations. The eighteen percent suicide rate there alone should show what a serious situation we have, yet the Feds do nothing. But that doesn’t mean I hold you personally accountable. You didn’t deliberately try to kill Ty, did you?”

Jensen blinked. This was not the kind of conversation he’d hoped to be having with Jared, either. “No, of course not. He left me no choice.” Jensen picked at the label on his beer bottle morosely, his mood soured. Great, just what he needed. Another bleeding heart were-lover on his hands. His erection wilted. He should have known this Jared was too good to be true.

“Of course you didn’t. That would make you a monster…” Jared whispered as he looked over at Jensen guiltily. “Whoa, sorry. I, I talk too much, especially when I drink. Ah shit, that’s a mood killer.”

Jensen tried to brush it off, but Jared’s words stung. He knew there was a reason he kept to anonymous one-night stands.

“Hey listen, tomorrow’s gonna be a long day, and I’ve got to get my butt home and take my meds, get off this leg. I think I made a mistake here, I need to keep…” Jensen started to rise and Jared reached out to touch Jensen’s shoulder. The sensation of Jared’s large warm palm as the heat penetrated the thin material of his shirt sent Jensen’s thoughts scattering. He looked into Jared’s eyes, suddenly uncertain.

“No, wait, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have gone there, my bad. My mouth runs away with me sometimes. How about we do this again? Sort of a do-over. Something a bit more fun, and I promise I won’t bring up work again.” Jared nudged him as his fingers rubbed along Jensen’s shoulder blade.

Jensen resisted the urge to move away from Jared’s touch. He could tell the guy was getting too interested, but the warm press of his fingers had Jensen's cock chubbing again, and sparks dancing along his skin. His dick was in a death match with his mind, but his cock was winning out even though getting involved made it easy to let people get too close.

“Seriously, how about tomorrow night? Until the case breaks, you’re stuck here, right?” Jared tried to say it jokingly, but it came out sounding needy and a little lost.

“Why? Are you trying to take advantage of me?”

Jared’s eyes grew serious and he leaned back, with his hands raised. He licked his suddenly dry lips, “No, nothing like that. I’m enjoying spending time with you. And I’m not going to let you push me away. Come on, you’re just grumpy because you’re in pain.”

“I’m not so sure this is a good idea.” Jensen made his voice cold, to try and distance himself from Jared and all his sloppy emotions, but the effect was ruined when he stood up from his seat, and his leg gave out. Jared caught him before he could fall.

Jared determinedly wrapped his arm around Jensen’s waist and helped him stand. Jensen groaned as his leg took his partial weight. “Well, before you make any hasty decisions, maybe let’s sleep on it, okay? Then tomorrow I’ll change your mind. For now, I think it’s bed time for Marshal. I’ll drive you to your truck. For our next date, I was thinking we could head over to Christian’s.”

“Christian’s?” Jensen tried to stay focused. Jared’s arm was around his waist as they left the little restaurant, and Jared manhandling him out to his car, made focusing difficult. He winced as Jared helped him swing his bad leg into the passenger footwell.

“Officially, it’s called ‘Kane’s Roadhouse’ but the owner's first name is Christian. He’s my friend, so I call him Chris. He runs a bar up the road. And since tomorrow’s Friday, it’s live music night. What do you say?”

“Um, maybe, I’ll have to let you know. Work is….erratic.” Jensen tempered, with full intentions of worming his way out of all this, tomorrow.

“Well, in that case, I think I’ll need your phone number.” Jared announced. “It’s the modern equivalent of first base, right? Get a boy's cell phone number?” Jared waggled his eyebrows and tried to look lascivious. “You can’t get away from me, Marshal.”

Jensen side-eyed Jared a little suspiciously. The man’s persistence was worthy of a Hunter. As they pulled away from the curb, Jensen couldn’t resist asking, “So, tell me more about this height requirement.”

Comments always appreciated ^^

 


	4. Fox eyes

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](http://meus-venator.livejournal.com/67191.html)

 

 

Jensen promised himself he’d make this quick, just drop in and cancel his ‘date’ with Jared. After a fitful night's rest, Jensen knew it should never have gone this far, anyway. He knew better. Maybe he’d change his cell phone number just to make sure he didn’t change his mind. Like that wasn’t pathetic, at all.

Pulling up in front of The Wired Bean the next morning, he had to admit maybe he actually kind of was that pathetic. He stuffed his gloves in his back pocket and put on his Stetson, checking to see his shirt was properly tucked in. A smile kept breaking out over his face in spite of his best intentions, and he had to keep tamping down the warm, anxious flutter in his gut as he pushed open the front door. He’d simply go in and get it over with, and start eating at Darcy’s for the rest of his stay.

What met him had his eyebrows raising immediately.

“No, absolutely not. I won’t let him force me into something I don’t want.” Jared’s voice was loud in the early morning quiet. Jeff Morgan was standing by the front cash, both hands palm down on the counter as he leaned in to speak in hushed tones to the angry man. “I mean it Jeff, I’ll pack up and leave everything before I let him do this. This is why I left to begin with.”

“I know, I support you, but you know he won’t stop.” Jensen heard Morgan’s furious whisper. “He’s your –”

“No! No means no. I won’t, I refuse. Flat out. Tell him– Jensen!”

Jared’s eyes went almost comically wide as he caught sight of him at the door. Jensen stepped closer, Stetson in hand, his eyes narrowed. “Is there a problem here?” The hairs on the back of Jensen’s neck were standing on end.

“No, Morgan was just leaving. He was updating me on some family developments.”

Jensen’s brow furrowed, “I didn’t know you two were related. Are you?”

“No.” Jared’s emphatic response.

“Yes,” Morgan uttered at the same time. Morgan gave Jared a frustrated look. He ran his hand through his hair as he huffed out an exasperated breath, “What I meant to say, Marshal, is we grew up really close.”

“Is there something wrong?” Jensen watched Morgan’s face intently.

“No, nothing we can’t take care of. I’m going out to my place in the country this weekend, and since Jared doesn’t have time to come I was volunteering to take any news he wanted to send to the family he’s still got living around those parts. They are kind of interfering.”

“Hmm. So I’ve heard.” Jensen made a non-committal sound and stepped closer to the cash, situating himself between Jeff and Jared.

“Is there something maybe I could help with?”

“No!” both parties answered emphatically and Jensen pursed his lips.

“Listen” Jared said to Morgan. “Give me time to think about it, and I’ll call you later. ‘K?”

“Yeah, sure. I’ve got to get to work, anyway.” Morgan slapped his ball cap against his open hand, “Marshal.” With a perfunctory nod at Jensen, he tugged his cap into place, shouldered past him, and left the store.

Jared watched Morgan thoughtfully as he walked out. Jensen, ever the cop, eyed Jared’s face for clues as to what was really going on.

“So, family troubles?”

Jared looked over and flashed Jensen a brief smile that was more a grimace. “Yeah, like I told you, I have a very protective extended family. They’re always trying to get me back home and fix me up with someone.”

“Oh” Jensen’s eyes widened and then he relaxed. Of all the things they could have been arguing about, Jared’s family trying to fix him up was the last thing he would have guessed. He relaxed a little and smiled. “Well isn’t that an aunt’s duty? To try and fix her nephew up?”

“Yeah, my aunt is the least of my worries. It’s all the others ready to jump in and tell me how I should live my life.” Jared's smile dimmed before he changed the subject. “So, Marshal, how are you doing today?”

Jensen thought about it a moment and decided to postpone his cancellation, with Jared this upset right now it would only be cruel. His stomach rumbled alarmingly, warning him it would not be put off so easily. “Well, walking in on Family Feud was kind of a surprise, but I’d love a cup of your coffee and whatever you recommend for a breakfast snack that isn’t a donut. I’m on stakeout again today, and kind of sick of my own cooking. If you have anything that’s portable for lunch, I’ll take that too.” Jensen's appetite perked up at the idea of giving the peanut butter and jam sandwiches he’d made this morning the old heave-ho, in lieu of Jared’s cooking.

“Oh, what are you staking out?” Jared gave him a conspiratorial look. Jensen could see Jared trying to make a physical effort to relax, but his hands were twisting at his apron.

Jensen tipped his head, shaking it slightly as he crossed his arms. “Seriously?”

Jared pulled a face and in a more sheepish tone said, “Oh, right,” with an exaggerated roll of his eyes, “Marshal business.” Ears growing red, he grabbed a decorative paper bag and ducked behind the glass bake case and started to grab an assortment of things from inside it, any one of which was making Jensen’s mouth water.

Leaning across the counter to watch, Jensen had to admit the sight of Jared bent over, head down into the case, ass in the air, gave him an enticing view as well. All too soon, his growing selection of edibles was pulled together and Jared stood, pushing his hair out of his eyes.

He popped something in the microwave and poured coffee into a takeout cup, then his fingers started to dance over the register. At the soft bing of the microwave, Jared was already pushing the receipt toward Jensen as he started piling Jensen’s order into a take out bag, “That will be the best twelve ninety-nine you’ve ever spent.”

Jensen’s eyebrows shot up, gazing over the veritable mountain of food Jared was packing away for him. There was no way it cost only twelve bucks. “Is this the Marshal discount? They do pay me you know,” Jensen said, as he passed the money to Jared. His thumb rubbed against Jared’s palm as he laid the bills across it. Jared’s pink tongue darted out to moisten his lips, and Jensen’s hand jerked as lust coiled in his belly.

Smiling broadly, Jared said in a conspiratorial tone, “Ssshhh. I’m taking you to the roadhouse tonight, and there may be some singing. Mine. I need to convince you it’s worthwhile.” Jared’s eyes shifted from blue gray to green gold as Jensen watched.

“Oh,” Jensen said with an exaggerated widening of his eyes. “You, singing. Hmm. I may have to rethink this.”

“Hey, no takebacksies, you’ve already accepted the bribe. And I’m working till seven tonight so you can pick me up here any time around then, or text me if you think you’ll be late. We can eat at Kane’s. That is, unless you’re allergic to melted, processed cheese?”

Jensen threw his head back and laughed in spite of himself. “No, gooey cheese covered anything is fine by me.”

The answering twinkle in Jared’s eyes made Jensen’s pants tighten. The man was seriously gorgeous. Jensen tipped his fingers against the brow of his Stetson in salute and scooped up his bags of goodies. He was headed toward the door when Jared called over to him.

“Oh and Jensen…”

He looked over his shoulder at Jared who was frankly assessing his ass. “What you’re wearing is perfect.”

Jensen stumbled, and Jared only laughed. The low deep tone of Jared’s voice licked along his spine, and Jensen knew he had to get out of there fast. His pants were growing tighter by the second.

That day's surveillance on Felicia became a bit more routine the second time around and being trapped in the truck with Jared’s goodie bag of wonders proved to be no hardship. Lunch came and went and Jensen still hadn’t called Jared to cancel their ‘date.’ In the long hours sitting outside KAWL staring at the flaking paint on the neon sign that ran up the side of the building, Jensen imagined a dozen different scenarios of Jared spread out beneath him on his bed. Jensen rubbed his forehead and sighed, so much for keeping his distance. Maybe if he did go on their date and fucked the man, he could get him out of his system?

His shift finally over, with no new results on the hunt, Jensen decided to follow up with Taylor’s employers at the drugstore and see if he could find out anything new before he went to pick up Jared for dinner.

Old Mr. McTavish, the owner and pharmacist at the Rexall, wasn’t much help, but Shawna, the young clerk at the front, provided some interesting clues.

“Yeah, Taylor was always going over to her aunt and uncle’s place on the weekends when Ty had to work, and sometimes when he drank too much.”

“That would be Kim Rhodes and…”

“Oh, JD. They aren’t really married, but I guess they must be common law by now. Anyway, whenever she’s out with the flock, he stays in town at his house. Sort of the worst kept secret in town, but they’ve been together for years now. Sadly, no kids, though. Jeff would have made a great father.”

Shawna pulled the red sucker she’d been working out of her mouth. The sickly, chemical stink of artificial cherry filled the air. Jensen’s nose wrinkled at the sharp smell. Shawna gave him what he was sure she thought was a sultry look. “So, uh Marshal, how long you expecting to be around these parts. You know…”

Jensen cut her off abruptly; the woman was clearly ten years his junior.

“Sorry, if we can stick with the facts of the case, which Jeff are you referring to?”

“Why Jeffrey Dean Morgan, the–” Shawna’s eyes widened and she started to choke on her sucker. Patting her back Jensen waited patiently until she got her breath back.

“Sorry, something must have gone down the wrong way. Jeff's the owner of Morgan’s garage.”

Jensen thought she might have been about to say something else, but he couldn’t be sure.

Last on his list of places to investigate was Taylor’s current employer, The Iron Ridge Woolen Company and General Store, a quaint shop a few doors down from the Rexall. Located in a historic brick building, the wooden trim work had been painted in a merry combination of pale oranges, reds and yellows that brought the old building back to what Jensen assumed was close to it’s original Victorian color scheme. The company’s logo featured three fluffy sheep on a steep mountainside. Jensen had to grin as he spied the sign, old-fashioned script letters painted in gold, a tourist trap if ever he saw one.

A chime sounded overhead as he entered, and the three sales floor staff were quick to glance up and smile in welcome. Jensen stood for a moment, impressed by the well stocked store, and the odd mix of quirky, vintage, and modern. The walls on either side of the shop were stuffed with a cascading rainbow of yarns that circled the store: varying shades of different colors, some heavy, thick strands, some, as well as he could tell, as fine-spun as spider silk. Sleek lighted glass displays showed off to best advantage a variety of well-made crafts and knitted goods,far from the tacky doilies and chintzy crafts Jensen had expected. Knit wear ranging from South American style striped hoodies, sinfully soft to the touch, and bulky cable knit fishermen’s sweaters, filled various racks and competed with baby clothes of all description, as well as rugs and blankets, interspersed with glowing stacks of jars filled with amber honey. Jensen reached one fingertip to touch a baby's hat, knit from wool softer and finer than he'd seen anywhere, and had to smile – the tiny hat would just about fit over his closed fist.

A surprisingly tasteful selection of wooden sculptures were also displayed throughout the store, modern takes on bears, deer, foxes, eagles, and even raccoons at play, carved from different woods, ranging from pale to honey gold, to walnut-dark in color, and simple bleached driftwood sculptures that would be more at home in a New York gallery than in a general store in a small backwoods town in Montana. On the wall behind the antique cash register hung a fun sculpture of the three sheep logo.

Tucked away in the back corner of the store, there was even a selection of frozen and fresh mutton and lamb products. It seemed the Iron Ridge Woolen Company had a hand in all things sheep related. Jensen stood gazing around him, slightly bemused as his fingers continued to stroke over a simple knit sweater in a moss green color that had caught his eye.

“May I help you?”

Jensen turned, and was met by the warm smile of an older woman with dark hair.

“Oh, yes. Marshal Jensen Ackles, Hunter Division. I’m here to talk to the manager about a case.” Jensen smiled and the woman looked at him thoughtfully.

“Well you’re talking to the right girl. I’m Sam Ferris, store manager. Pleased to meet you, Marshal. I imagine you’re here to talk about Ty and Taylor? I heard about Ty’s death. Terrible thing.”

“Yes and I do have a few questions I’d like to ask you about the case. Have you heard from Taylor at all since Ty’s death? Know of her whereabouts?”

Sam shook her head sadly and gestured toward the back. “No, not a peep. Care for a cup of coffee? I was just going on break. We can take it outside and chat. It’s a beautiful day, and winter comes far too quickly around these parts.”

While Sam busied herself making up a fresh pot of coffee, Jensen wandered through the store, taking closer looks at the crafts and treasures hidden behind every rack. He picked up a little carved wolf, perched on a rocky ledge. The wolf’s head was thrown back as it howled at the moon, and Jensen marveled at the loving detail carved into each strand of fur on the tiny wolf’s body.

“Oh, that’s Morgan’s work. He’s quite the craftsman.” Sam came up behind him with two steaming hot mugs of coffee in her hands.

Jensen arched a questioning brow, “Morgan, as in the mechanic, Morgan?” He asked, a smile ghosting over his lips.

“Yeah, that’s him. Talented fellow, isn't he? All his work is one of a kind. This one he calls ‘Wolf’s Folly.’ It's a beautiful piece, don’t you think?”

Jensen nodded in astonishment and reluctantly set the little wolf down. He glanced back at it one more time before taking his mug in hand.

A short while later, they were sitting on a bench out front of the store, each with a steaming cup of coffee. Jensen took a tentative sip of his. It was perfect. Strong, but not burnt tasting. He savored a couple of sips before asking, “So about Ty and Taylor. Was there ever any indication that either of them might be weres? Anything suspicious that you might have witnessed? She worked for you for more than five years, according to our records.”

“No, well not that I noticed, but Taylor did all the design and updating of the Iron Ridge Woolen Company’s website from home. Aaron hadn’t started school yet, so she was at home with him. A lot of our meetings were by phone or video conference, though I did see her in person every week or so when she came into town.”

“So, nothing ever suggested she might be a were?”

“Well, I never saw her sprout hair and go wolfy, if that’s what you mean. As far as I knew, they were a happy, loving couple with two energetic little boys. I wish I could say I saw something, but I didn’t. Taylor worked most often with Osric, our full time IT manager, she reported directly to him. He’s in the office upstairs, but I think you’ll find his experience is similar.”

“I’ll go speak with him next. So, you don't recall anything suspicious, or violent.”

“Heaven’s no, the girl is a lamb. Ty got drunk now and then, but he was more mischievous than trouble. I have to say I’m still in shock over his death. I never suspected a thing.”

Jensen had a similar discussion with Osric, the short, energetic, IT manager.

“Yeah, I know it’s a stereotype, Asian guy as the IT manager, but what can I say? I love it, and Iron Ridge Woolen Company has enough lines of business to keep me hopping. And they love my input.”

Jensen smiled down at the diminutive man as he hovered over a bank of screens.

“What else is the Company into?” he asked, more personally curious than on behalf of the case.

“What don’t they do? The Iron Ridge Pass community raises sheep and keeps beehives, as well as being a prolific creative community, with whole lines of carvings, and jewelry for sale. They shear and process the wool, spin and dye the yarns to sell, and they also weave and knit items to sell. And, of course, they sell the meat. The bees provide honey, and beeswax for their candles. We’ve got a whole separate line of products just dealing with the apiary products. Iron Dance Honey supplies products worldwide. This little store is just the tip of their merchandising empire. Iron Ridge does just about everything themselves except the butchering, they contract that out to a slaughterhouse in Three Forks, but everything else is put together here in town or at Iron Ridge Pass. It makes every day working here pretty exciting.”

Jensen nodded along as Osric listed the company's assets, fairly impressed. He half-cheeked it on Osric's desk and asked, “You from around here?”

“Oh hell no. San Francisco born and bred, but I was looking to get out of the big city and when they offered me carte blanche on marketing their stuff, and on what technologies to use, I decided to try out the bracing air of a Montana winter. Been here ever since, and that’s going on nine years.”

“So you knew Ty, as well?”

“Sure did. We did a lot of online gaming, and got together at Kane’s, like a lot of folks around here. I wouldn’t have believed he was a were, except for it’s a US. Marshal telling me that, so I guess have to believe it. Strange world we live in, Marshal.”

The phone started to ring and Osric glanced over at it. “Oh, I gotta take this, if it’s all right? It’s a deal we've been working on with Japan, that I need to finalize.”

Jensen nodded. Osric talked shop on the phone as Jensen sauntered out of the office, down and through the store, and out to his Rover. So many people connected to this Olsson couple, and no one had seen a thing…. Curious.

In preparation for his as-yet-uncancelled night out, Jensen popped a couple of extra pain pills and took his last course of silver meds before he drove over to meet Jared. Humming to himself, Jensen pulled over in front of the store. His leg was marginally better, but he hoped the evening wouldn’t be too taxing on it. Dancing was for sure off the menu, though the prospect of holding Jared’s long lean body in his arms as he guided him around the dance floor was a tempting one. Maybe another time.

He shook his head and sternly reminded himself there would be no other time.

Jared waved at him through the window, and said a few words to Tyler before hanging up his apron and smoothing back his hair. He strode toward the Rover, his movements sinuous. His baggy jeans hung low on his lean hips, a taunting slice of golden flesh showing at his belly where his long sleeved three-button Henley rode up. Six and a half feet of sex on legs, and all Jensen's for the taking, if he played things right. His actions hidden by the Rover’s door, Jensen palmed his growing erection. This could prove to be a long, long night.

Kane’s wasn’t what Jensen had expected. He’d thought it would be a rundown dive, and it was bordering on that. But the live music was surprisingly top notch. A small stage to the left of the bar had a steady stream of walk-in singers that blew Jensen’s mind, and made him itch to hold a guitar in his hands again.

They’d only just ordered some drinks and snacks when a man, a little on the short side, with piercing blue eyes, broad shoulders, his longish, dirty blond hair tied in a ponytail at the nape of his neck, stopped by their table. “J-man, you’re here. Good to see you, son.”

“Hey, Chris, the place is jumping tonight.”

“Yeah, thanks to those flyers you put in your store window. I owe you, man.” Chris slapped Jared on the back before grabbing a chair from a nearby table, turning it around to straddle it, and sat down with them.

“Chris, I want you to meet my friend, Marshal Jensen Ackles. He’s a Hunter, here visiting these parts.”

Chris eyed Jensen coldly. “You the one that killed Ty?”

Jensen’s eyebrows rose, it wasn’t like Ty was a human, he was a were for God’s sake. Most citizens thanked him for his work. Jared reached out and squeezed his hand across the table. Jensen shrugged and took a careful sip of his beer before responding. “Wasn’t trying to.”

“Yeah, Ty, could be a stubborn bastard, but the rez is such a shithole. You can’t blame a guy for not wanting to go back.”

“You know about the rez? How?” Jensen was on instant alert, his hand crept down to his holster on his hip.

“Hold up, Marshal, put your guns away. I ain’t no were, but I’ve done a few gigs down in Billings and Hardin, the were rez is on the old Crow reserve just south of there – near the abandoned uranium mines.”

“When the mines started killing too many of the natives, they moved ‘em out and put the weres there, instead. The theory was, their greater tolerance to radiation was supposed to mean they’d be okay. But if you ask me, it’s no place for any critter, man nor beast, to live. Certainly nowhere you’d want to raise a family.” Chris’ eyes were cold and unforgiving as he spit on the sawdust covered floor. “The government’s pulled that same neat trick all over, and it don’t make me a were lover to say I am ashamed of what they done to them. You must know what I’m talking about. You have been to some of the reservations, right?”

Jensen leaned back, as he thought about his answer. Honestly, it wasn’t really part of his job. He bagged them, another crew usually tagged them and took them to the closest reservation, while he moved on to the next hunt. Over the course of his career he’d only been to one rez, almost five years back, when he’d escorted the lunatic that had killed his family from the State Pen, where they had been holding him, to the Shatega Reservation in Nevada. Frederic Lehne may have looked older, and limping, thanks to the three bullet holes Jensen had put in him when they had taken him down. He was sixty-five by then, but in his day, he and his pack had killed and turned hundreds. Sentencing to the rez didn’t seem like hardly enough to make up for the death of Jensen’s entire family.

Jensen didn’t remember much except the cold look of hatred in Lehne’s eyes when Jensen arrived to escort him to the rez. His eyes had glowed gold in spite of the silver embedded state collar he was wearing. Even twenty years after first laying eyes on the man, a hum of alpha power and energy vibrated around him so strongly a human could sense it. Lehne managed to be almost as scary as a human as he was in his were form. Jensen remembered that black wolf vividly, its eyes glittering with madness as it watched Jensen’s home burn to the ground. As the reservation custody officers took him away Lehne’s gaze had burned into him. “You think you’re so righteous, just because you won. Well you’re wrong, and blood will continue to be shed until you realize that and free my people.”

He couldn’t understand Lehne then, and he refused to sympathize now, whatever the conditions might be.

“Jensen. Jensen, you with us, Marshal?” Kane’s fingers as they snapped in front of his face were the first thing Jensen saw.

“Yeah, yeah, must have been a ghost walking over my grave, or somethin’.”

Kane’s eyebrows rose, “Yeah, or something.” At the pointed glare coming from Jared, Chris took the hint and changed the topic, “So, how did such a hardass like you end up with our sweet J-bird, here?”

Jensen chuckled softly and looked over at a suddenly red faced Jared. “Just lucky, I guess.”

“Chris, isn’t it time for you to go and play something? You’ve stirred up enough trouble for one night,” Jared scolded, shooing Kane off.

Shrugging, Christian rose to his feet, nonplussed. “Yeah, it is about time I showed these rookies a thing or two. Hey, Marshal, you play?”

Jensen looked up and smiled tightly. “Been known to.”

“Why don’t you come up and join me? I was thinking of playing _The Weight_.”

It had been a long time since Jensen had picked up a guitar. It had been around the time of his third break up, the same time he’d sworn off relationships for good.

He’d always loved playing guitar; it had been something he and his father had shared, his one connection to the past, to his family. When Carol had accused him of being emotionally unavailable, whatever the hell that meant, Jensen had finally moved out. During the rush he had accidentally left his guitar behind, and hadn’t had the heart to go back and collect it. Since then, he’d never bothered to buy another. He’d locked that part of his life away, his family, his relationships; all of it. He had taken solace in his job and in doing it well. He hadn’t really needed anything else. But Chris’ question made him yearn to hold a guitar in his hands for the first time in years. He tugged self-consciously on his sleeves, pulling them down over the ugly scars.

Blowing out a breath he shrugged. “I didn’t bring a guitar with me, man.”

“Come on, I’ll set you up. I saw your fingers drumming along with the music. Show Jared how it’s really done. I gotta warn you, if you don’t already know, the man can’t sing for beans, not even sing in the shower.” Chris shuddered dramatically before heading off toward the stage.

Jared threw back his head and laughed, “Ha!” He squeezed Jensen’s hand reassuringly. “Yeah, about that. He might be kind of right. Go on, do it. I’d love to hear what your voice sounds like.”

Without thinking, Jensen reached out and grabbed Jared’s chin pulling him in so his thumb could rub along Jared’s soft bottom lip. He hummed and tilted his head sideways and gazed into Jared’s fox eyes, before he leaned in for a kiss.

Jensen’s tongue slid carefully over Jared’s lip before gently pushing inside. Hunger and need built, as teeth and lips clashed. Jared’s tongue twined around his, as Jensen licked into Jared’s mouth. Realizing he was close to wanting much more, Jensen pulled back, breathless. Jared’s green-blue eyes had gone dark with arousal, and he moaned as Jensen released him.

Jensen swiped his thumb over Jared’s spit slick lip and then licked it. Jared groaned and his eyelids fluttered shut. “Go on, you’re killing me, here.”

Chuckling, Jensen kissed Jared quickly on the tip of the nose and turned swiftly, discreetly readjusting his suddenly too tight pants as he limped after Chris.

He was rusty at first and missed more than a few chords, but after strumming along to several of Kane’s songs, by the time they finished _More Than I Deserve_ , he thought he was starting to get the hang of things again. He knew he had when Christian urged Jensen to take the lead on _The Weight_.

The crowd quieted and started to sing along. Jensen couldn’t see past the stage lights to make out Jared’s reaction, but he hoped the man liked it.

There were cheers for an encore, but Jensen’s fingers were burning after so long out of practice and the heavy skin of the scars on his hands and fingers pulled and ached. Kane eyed his hands speculatively but didn’t say a word about them, only slapped him on the back. “Time to call it a night I think. You did good, son. Maybe you’re not such an asshole after all, even if you are a Marshal.”

“Thanks, that means a lot coming from a redneck like you!”

Kane snorted and signaled the next act to come up on stage.

Jensen limped back to their table and was met by a beaming Jared, who stood and clapped, as Jensen approached. “You never said you could PLAY, play.”

Jensen snorted with laughter, “Jared, we’ve been out once. There’s tons we don’t know about each other. I don’t even know your middle name.”

Jared smiled, and waggled his eyebrows, “Yet.”

He shoved Jared against the exposed brick wall in the hallway as he kicked the door to Jared’s apartment closed. Jensen didn’t remember much about the trip there. Jared had driven, and then they’d almost killed themselves fumbling their way up the steep staircase.

Now, safely inside Jared’s second story walkup, all Jensen knew for sure was that there were too many clothes in the way. Breathing raggedly, Jensen grabbed Jared by either side of the head, and ran his fingers through his long messy locks. Using both hands, he pulled Jared closer, nibbling a desperate line up the tempting length of his neck. Jared moaned, and let his head slump back against the wall, freeing Jensen to blaze a trail of small bites and butterfly kisses into his heated flesh. The smell of their combined musk was thick in the air.

The hard jut of Jared’s erection through his jeans was painfully obvious and Jared grunted weakly as he started to rut up against Jensen. His eyelids fluttered closed and his pink tongue darted out to lick his lips.

“What are we doing, Jay?” Jensen’s voice was almost a growl. He grabbed Jared’s hands and pinned them up against the wall. He wanted to be sure.

“You’re going to fuck me like you promised.” Jared’s voice husked out, and he arched his body toward Jensen’s until they slotted together. He rolled his hips provocatively against the spur of Jensen’s hip.

Jensen’s hands tightened around Jared’s wrists, and he bit his lip. He wondered exactly how much Jared had drunk that evening. It hadn’t seemed like a lot but the man was acting like he was drugged, sloe eyed and lethargic. He shook him, his voice gruff as he croaked. “You sure, Jay?”

“God yeah, fuck me.” Jared breathed out, his hair a wild nimbus around his head.

It took only seconds for Jensen’s shirt to drop to the floor.

Jared’s hands were on his bare chest in an instant. Strong fingers plucked at his nipples, twisting and teasing. Jensen groaned and closed his eyes and his head dropped against Jared’s chest as he tried to ignore the insistent press of Jared’s cock against his thigh. He wanted to make this last.

“Fuck, Jay, baby, where’s your bedroom?”

“Down the hall,” Jared’s head swooped down unexpectedly, his lips latched on to Jensen’s pebbled nipple, and he sucked on it with abandon. Jensen’s chest heaved.

“You keep that up, and I’m not gonna make it there in time.” Jensen struggled to keep the whimper out of his voice as he worked at Jared’s belt buckle.

“S’okay, we can go again.”

Jared’s promise shivered down Jensen’s spine. He watched in fascination as Jared slid to his knees, folding gracefully to the floor like he did this for a living. Jensen’s cock twitched painfully in his pants and this time he did moan.

“God!”

“You can call me Jay.” Fox eyes looked up at him in amusement as Jared’s talented fingers flicked open Jensen’s fly and pulled down his briefs. Cool air hit his overheated flesh, and Jared carefully pulled his cock from his pants. Once free, Jensen’s cock bobbed, proud and angry red against his belly.

Jared touched Jensen’s drooling dick tentatively, like it might break. Then more boldly, his hands encircling the shaft, holding it carefully as his wide tongue licked a long, wet stripe up the big vein that ran along the underside. Jared hummed, and smiled softly in approval before he ducked his head lower. Jensen watched wide eyed as he took, first one, then both of Jensen’s balls into his mouth, rolling them back and forth over his tongue as he explored their shape.

Groaning at the sensation, Jensen reached out, mindless, and pulled Jared closer, combing his fingers through Jared’s silky hair as his pulse banged in his ears.

Jared hummed again and the vibration along his balls and cock had Jensen squeezing his eyes tight. At Jared’s nudge, Jensen automatically widened his stance so Jared could shuffle in closer. He panted, struggling not to come.

With a wet, noisy squelch Jared released his balls and spit dribbled warm and slick down between Jensen’s legs. Jared kneeled up, his breath coming in warm huffs over the head of Jensen’s cock. He grasped the base of Jensen’s dick with one hand, then Jared leaned in and teased at Jensen’s slit with the tip of his tongue, then laved a wet circle around the head of Jensen’s cock, careful to rub under the base of the crown.

Jensen groaned and tried to buck up, to bury himself in Jared’s warm mouth, but a firm hand on his cock and a sharp tug on his balls held him in place. He hung there, hardly able to catch a breath, as Jared alternately teased and tormented. Jared glanced up occasionally, eyes wide, to gauge Jensen’s reactions.

Wet heat suddenly enveloped the head of Jensen’s aching cock, but before he could get used to the sensation, Jared pulled back and off with a wet plop. Jensen bit back a moan, struggling for control until the warm, wet mouth returned, tentative at first, then taking more of Jensen inside. Jared’s movements were messy and awkward, but he kept at it, his cheeks hollowed as he swallowed down more of Jensen’s shaft. Lost in sensation, Jensen rocked his hips forward, his cock nudging the back of Jared’s throat, and Jared gagged, choking around it. Jensen released his hold on Jared’s head and dug his fingers into his thighs, whispering, “Sorry, sorry.”

With growing confidence, Jared let more of Jensen’s cock slide into his mouth and used his hand to strip the rest of Jensen’s shaft. Pleasure mounted as Jared began bobbing up and down, and had Jensen’s head rolling back and forth against the rough brick, his teeth worrying mindlessly at his bottom lip.

His balls tightened and Jensen knew he was close. He tried to push back on Jared’s shoulders, his mouth suddenly too dry to speak, but Jared hummed happily around his cock and held him in place. Helpless to do anything else Jensen cried out, spilling down Jared’s throat.

Eyelids fluttering open, Jensen looked down. He was greeted by the sight of Jared’s careful kitten licks on his still half hard cock as he cleaned him. Jensen reached down to cup Jared’s jaw, his voice weirdly soft to his ears as he whispered Jared’s name.

Jared smiled and kissed the tip of Jensen’s dick. He turned his head and took Jensen’s hand, turning it in his larger palm and kissing at the white, discolored flesh. Jensen shuddered as Jared's breath ghosted across his moonscape flesh, and at the sight of Jared nuzzling into Jensen’s palm, pressing soft kisses over each ridge and puckered groove of his scarred hand. Jensen swayed and Jared slowly rose to his feet,staring at Jensen hungrily, his own cock filling his pants impressively.

“Let’s get you to bed, Marshal,” Jared whispered in his ear, holding Jensen’s waist as he limped down the hall.

“M’not gonna sleep.” Jensen mumbled petulantly, his brains still blown out his dick.

“Who said anything about sleeping?” Jared murmured.

Jared playfully pushed Jensen down on his back on the bed. Still dressed, Jensen watched as Jared swiftly tugged off his Henley and turning, shucked his own jeans and boxers, throwing them over a chair in the corner. When Jared was naked in the soft light of the bedroom, Jensen admired the firm muscled lines of his back and the taut hollows in the lean cheeks of his ass.

When Jared turned to face him however, the playful vixen was gone. In his place was a suddenly nervous young man, and Jensen’s chest tightened. His voice was gravely and deep with emotion as he reached out and grasped Jared’s hand, “Come’ere darlin’.”

Unspeaking, a tentative smile on his lips, Jared stepped closer and Jensen let out a ragged breath he didn’t know he was holding.

As gorgeous as the wide spread of Jared’s shoulders and the tight curve of his ass were, Jared from the front was a breathtaking thing, with prominent collarbones and sharply defined abdominals. A light dusting of hair across his chest tapered to a small dark line that lead down toward his cock. Jared had a beautiful cock, long and fat, that thrust out from his body, his shaft an angry red, and the head purpling.

Crouching, Jared started to tug at Jensen’s cowboy boots, careful of the jagged slashes still livid red on Jensen’s leg.

Unable to sufficiently loosen them by pulling, he turned and straddled Jensen’s booted foot, holding it between his legs. Lost in concentration, his tongue sticking adorably out of one side of his mouth, Jared tried again, but Jensen shifted his heel so the boot remained on. Unsuspecting, and growing impatient with his lack of progress, Jared glanced over his shoulder at Jensen, the motion setting his pert ass waggling enticingly. “Some help here?”

Jensen smirked and placed his other booted foot on the bare cheek of Jared’s ass and pushed. Jared jerked forward and with a slip of Jensen’s heel and one more tug the boot finally gave. Jared turned around, wide grin spread across his face, the boot held triumphantly in his hand.

Jensen grinned wickedly and licked his lips. Jared eyes went wide, boot dropping forgotten to the floor as he stared wantonly at Jensen’s mouth.

“Gotta…gotta get that other boot off.” Jared murmured as he straddled Jensen’s other leg. Jensen watched a shudder run through Jared’s body as Jensen’s bare foot settled against the cheek of his ass, and. Jensen let this boot slide free faster. The sight of Jensen’s footprint on Jared’s ass cheek had him imagining all the things he’d like to do to Jared’s body.

The second boot dropped to the floor, and Jared paused to run his fingers over the white ridges and scars on Jensen’s feet and calves. “So much hurt,” Jared muttered. He pressed a gentle kiss onto the tops of each of Jensen’s feet before he crawled his way up from the foot of the bed, his cock hanging low and heavy between his legs. Kneeling on all fours straddling Jensen’s body, Jared’s eyes were a darkening swirl of green and blue, and Jensen’s cock began to harden once more. The vulpine angles of Jared’s face were mysterious and exotic in the low light of the room.

Jared dipped his head, his lips brushing against Jensen’s. He nipped and licked Jensen’s face and throat until Jensen, groaning, reached to cup the back of Jared’s neck with his hand, so he could pull him down to him. When their lips were barely brushing, Jensen whispered. “Want to fuck you. Split you on my cock and make you come so hard you pass out.” Jared let out a quavering breath and Jensen smiled, capturing Jared’s mouth again, his tongue sliding in on Jared’s needy gasp.

The breathy, desperate sounds Jared made as Jensen licked inside his mouth had Jensen’s cock fully hard in record time. Jared had unconsciously started to rock against Jensen’s body, his bare cock rubbing velvet soft against Jensen’s.

Jensen stared up at Jared’s face, his lips kiss swollen and red. “Want you so bad.” Jared whispered.

Jensen swallowed, his mouth suddenly gone dry. “I know Jay, we’ll get there, but first we need to open you up.”

Jared’s eyes were glazed, and Jensen wasn’t sure he had even heard him. “We need some lube, baby, and condoms, do you have any?”

Shakily, Jared reached across to the night stand and pulled out a bottle of lube and some foil packets. “Yeah...” Jared nodded, panting.

“Slide over and up a bit, Jay. If it’s been a while, I think on your knees would be best.” Jensen whispered. Obedient, Jared crawled over Jensen to take position higher up the bed. Sitting up beside him, Jensen’s hand touched Jared’s trembling flanks, and slid gently down his flank. “Easy, big guy, I’ll look after you.”

Skimming his hand lower he cupped the globes of Jared’s ass, kneading and rubbing each cheek in turn. Jared quivered beneath his fingers. “I’ll make it so good for you, sweetheart, just you wait and see.”

Jensen shuffled around to kneel behind Jared and tore open a packet quickly, rolling a condom down over his aching length. He eagerly squirted some lube on his fingers, rubbing his hands together to warm it up. Jared’s breath was coming hard and fast as he ran a slick finger along the crease of Jared’s ass and rubbed across his hole. Jensen leaned over and blanketed Jared’s body, nibbling at Jared’s shoulder blade while his other hand reached to close around Jared’s dick. Jensen’s fingers continued to circle around Jared’s tiny pucker while his lube slick fingers started to jack Jared slowly. Once Jared had begun to rock eagerly into his hand, Jensen eased a finger inside Jared’s channel, timing the movements of his hand with the thrusts of his finger.

Jared was tight, almost virginally so, and it took Jensen a while to comfortably fit two fingers inside. Jensen pressed in deeper, and Jared sucked in a shocked breath when Jensen brushed against his prostate. Knowledge in hand, Jensen concentrated on scissoring his fingers wider, being sure to brush across his prostate on every other pass. When three fingers fit comfortably, and Jared had started to relax and shiver in pleasure, Jensen huffed out a relieved breath. “Ready?”

Jared nodded, and Jensen knelt up, jacked himself a few times, then lined his fully hard cock up with Jared’s lube slick hole.

“We’ll take this nice and slow, Jay-man. Don’t want you to hurt you.”

He could see Jared’s head bob as he nodded, wordless, hiding behind his curtain of hair as he lowered his shoulders to the bed. Jensen worked the flared head of his cock past the stretched outer ring of muscles and pressed in. As promised, Jensen took his time, short shallow thrusts that gradually worked more of himself inside Jared’s tight channel until he was fully seated. In spite of the care he had taken, Jared’s cock had deflated considerably from when they had begun.

Jensen waited until Jared settled and adjusted to Jensen inside him. He rubbed his cheek against Jared’s shoulder, murmuring words of praise and whispering all the filthy things he wanted to do to Jared. When Jared started to rock back against him impatiently. Jensen smiled and nipped at Jared’s collarbone “You okay?” He murmured, grinding his hips in a small, circular motion against him.

“Yeah,” Jared replied, unsteadily. When he glanced back over his shoulder at Jensen, his face was flushed with arousal and there was a wet glimmer in the corner of his eyes. Jensen’s heart clenched, but he could feel Jared start to fill in his hand again, so Jensen began to move. He pulled back almost to the tip and then slid back inside, careful to angle his thrusts to brush against Jared’s prostate. Jared moaned and spread his legs wider. Soon Jensen had set up a steady pace, his balls slapping lightly against Jared’s ass, and Jared’s cock was rock hard and leaking in his hand. Jensen stripped Jared’s cock furiously, his own breath coming heavy in his ears.

Jared started to visibly shake, and Jensen knew it wouldn’t be long. Then he was coming, jetting white in Jensen’s hand and across the crisp white sheets, clenching down on Jensen lodged deep inside him. Jensen’s balls tightened and he grabbed Jared’s hips with bruising force as he started to jackhammer in and out erratically. He squeezed his eyes tight as he hunched over Jared, rubbing his face against Jared’s back as he chased his pleasure. Two, three more thrusts, and he came with a roar, eyes springing open, his mouth a wide shocked O. Jared shivered as Jensen’s spilled warm and deep inside him, his skin twitching beneath Jensen’s hands in nervous reaction.

Reality trickled back slowly.

Jensen realized he’d let his full weight fall onto Jared’s back. With shaking hands he pushed himself up and, with a wet squelch, he eased his cock free of Jared’s puffy hole. Jared was turtled beneath him, a shocky, boneless, life sized doll, for all the resistance he put up to Jensen’s careful rearranging of his limbs.

They were both wet and sticky, come drying in places that would be uncomfortable later on, but Jensen was too tired and sated to care at the moment. He breathed deeply, the smell of sex was thick in the room.

This was usually the point when he left. He would give his lover one last lingering kiss, and then be on his way. He would put on his clothes and slip out the door, and out of their life, and return alone to wherever he was staying at the time. It was a good system, simple, no strings attached, uncomplicated, the way Jensen liked it.

He imagined it all, but he didn’t actually do any of it.

Instead, he gathered Jared into his arms and laced the fingers of their left hands together as he pulled Jared’s back up tight against his chest. Sleepily, Jensen tucked his chin into the juncture of Jared’s neck and shoulder. Kissing him on the vulnerable pulse point, where that was beginning to slow, Jensen yawned and whispered, “You okay?”

Jared only nodded, exhausted, but Jensen could see the faint satisfied grin on his face.

“Why didn’t you tell me I was your first?” Jensen asked as they lay there, not quite sleeping. With no immediate answer, Jensen forced himself to get up and limped to the bathroom to wash, bringing back a warm, damp cloth.

High on endorphins, Jared gave him a dopey smile as Jensen returned and sat on the edge of the bed. Rubbing Jensen’s thigh, Jared looked up guiltily. “’Cause if I told you, you wouldn’t have fucked me.”

“Damn straight I wouldn’t have. First time should be special, perfect.” _Not with someone like me._ Jensen’s chest tightened as guilt swamped him. He concentrated on gently cleaning Jared.

“And this wasn’t?” Jared pushed himself shakily up on one elbow, his other hand reaching to splay across Jensen’s chest.

“Yes!– No! There should have been rose petals and champagne or something.” Jensen trailed off miserably.

“Jensen, I’m not a girl. I don’t need to be courted.” Jared’s fingers circled the flat disc of Jensen’s nipple and playfully teased the sensitive bud.

Jensen grimaced, and batted his hand away. “I would want it to be the best for you.”

“And it was. Now shut up and sleep. I’ve got to be at the bakery by five.”

Jared flopped back onto his side and grabbed Jensen’s hand to urge him into place at his back.

Jensen took the hint and pulled Jared in tight, burying his nose in the crook of his neck, breathing in his scent. Jared relaxed against Jensen’s chest, Jensen’s cock nestled in the crack of his ass.

Jensen waited until Jared’s breathing evened out, and he had fallen fast asleep before he allowed himself to nod off.

Comments always appreciated ^^


	5. The Fire

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](http://meus-venator.livejournal.com/67191.html)

 

 

Jensen was cold. He looked around blurrily and found a clock on the nightstand. He had to squint to be sure he was reading it correctly, then buried his head determinedly in his pillow. Four in the morning was highly overrated. The early bird could keep that worm. He patted around searching in vain for Jared, but the man had already risen. Jensen grimaced, missing the waves of heat that had radiated off his lanky frame. The man was a veritable furnace. Shivering, Jensen grumbled to himself and burrowed deeper under the duvet.

 

The next time he surfaced, Jared was leaning down over him, already showered and dressed, giving him a slow, lingering kiss after setting a cup of coffee down on the night stand. The taste of Jared on his tongue and the delicious smell of _JaredJava_ were some of the things Jensen knew he couldn’t let himself get used to.

Jared eased down beside him on the bed, his hand absently scritching through Jensen’s short spiky hair. Jensen stretched, like a tawny, satisfied cat and blinked up at Jared, his eyes narrowed to emerald shards as he smiled, admiring what he saw.

“So, I’m off.” Jared’s mouth worked like he was trying to come up with more to say.

“You okay? Sore?” Jensen asked before thinking, his voice scratchy and deep. His mind churned furiously, stupid, stupid, he chided himself, never leave them an opening. He watched Jared’s face carefully, he could see all the warning signs.

A warm blush was slowly coloring Jared’s cheeks. “Maybe a little.”

“A good soak tonight will make you feel better.” Jensen’s hand was tracing odd patterns on Jared's back though the material of his shirt. He forced himself to stop.

Jared squirmed. “I was thinking maybe we could – if you want…” He wet his lips.

Jensen closed his eyes, he’d let this go on far longer than it should, it was needlessly cruel, like toying with a puppy. “Listen Jared, I’m honored I was your first, and I’m happy as hell I made it good for you. You’re a beautiful man, and I know I enjoyed our little romp, but the fact is, I expect to be pretty busy on this case for the foreseeable future. And, the honest truth? You’re really not my speed. Sleepy backwater little town like this – you need to find yourself a nice local boy, one who deserves you.”

On cue, Jared’s face crumpled. Smiling blindly, Jensen forced himself to sit up. He crudely slapped Jared on the ass as he took a deliberately crude slurp from his coffee. He swung his legs around to the floor. “Fuck, man. I have to say, you’re one awesome lay. I haven’t had such a sweet ride in months. Any boy would be lucky to snap you up.”

Jensen stood and scratched lazily at his balls. “Too bad you’re sore, otherwise we could maybe have gone another round, break you in a bit more. Hey, you mind if I take a shower before I head out?” Jensen glanced toward the shower.

He could see the shock on Jared’s face as Jensen’s words rained down on him like shards of glass.

His posture rigid, Jared pushed himself off of the bed. There was a gleam of wetness in the corners of his eyes. Jensen forced himself to watch, with an expectant look on his face. Jared gave him a tremulous smile, and pulled his best poker face into place, “Shower’s over there. Glad I was such a…good ride. ‘K, goodbye, then. I’m sure you can let yourself out.”

Jared strode hurriedly out of the room, not looking back. When the door to the apartment closed with a soft creak, Jensen sagged to the bed, his heart jackhammering in his chest. He squeezed his eyes closed and let out a ragged breath. Sure, it was cruel in the short term, but really it was for the best. He couldn’t let the boy get attached. He limped to the shower.

Truth was, Jared was better off with anyone else but him.

Rubbing a towel through his still shower damp hair, Jensen wandered through Jared’s apartment to the kitchen. Well-worn leather sofa and a sasquatch sized club chair in the living room, shelves overflowing with books on all manner of subjects, it was a comfortable little place. Jensen’s fingers trailed along the spines: cooking, philosophy, journalism. Jared was a man of many interests. Several cameras and a top of the line computer sat in the corner, and an old scooter leaned casually against the wall, an obvious antique.

Jensen’s lips tightened, it was a place he could easily call home himself. Growing more antsy, Jensen reached the kitchen and snagged a couple of pieces of bacon off the plate Jared had left out. Whisked eggs sat abandoned in a bowl by the stove and a loaf of bread by the toaster. It was obvious the man had planned a quiet breakfast for the two of them together.

Regret was an emotion Jensen wasn’t used to feeling. Appetite vanished, he glanced at the clock. It was barely coming up to five o’clock, and Jensen had never wanted to leave anywhere so badly in his life. He tugged on his black gloves and coat and pulled the locked door of the apartment closed behind him.

Too late to drive home, a bit too early to drop into the station, Jensen decided to drive over to Day’s and relieve the plainclothes LEOs staked out at her apartment. He was sure the men would appreciate getting to knockoff early, and Jensen wasn’t going back to bed anytime soon.

 

He was pulling up to the curb when he saw Day and a dark haired woman with several overnight bags and two young children exit the building. From this distance, the woman with Day matched the photo ID he had for Taylor Cole pretty close. The kids with her must be her two boys, Aaron, three, and Patrick, six. Jensen turned off the ignition and pulled his gun, setting it for stun. He looked over, waiting for the two LEOs parked directly opposite the entrance to take the lead and take Cole into custody. When nothing happened, and the officers continued to simply sit in their unmarked car watching, Jensen cursed, and swung out of his vehicle, weapon raised.

“Federal Marshal, stop where you are.” Jensen shouted.

Taylor screamed, and Felicia stood there stunned. Then the bags dropped to her feet and she was pushing Taylor in the opposite direction and yelling, “Run!”

Jensen shook his head in dismay. Things didn’t have to be this hard, if people would only learn their place.

Taylor grabbed the boys’ hands and started to run down the sidewalk as Felicia positioned herself between them and Jensen.

“Move.” Jensen roared. Felicia raised her chin, a stubborn look on her face. Jensen didn’t think twice, simply raised his gun and shot her. Felicia folded to the sidewalk, looking utterly shocked as Jensen ran past her.

“Freeze, or I’ll shoot!” Jensen could take no chances, if she was a shifter, she and the children could change at any time and get away.

Taylor looked back over her shoulder, terrified as she wobbled on high heels, but she kept going. Jensen fired.

Taylor cried out as the shot froze all control over her limbs. Momentum flung her forward and she fell, face forward, to the concrete. The two little boys ahead of her continued to run but slowed down once they realized their mother was hit. The eldest turned, crying out, “Mama,” before turning to his younger brother and pushing him forward, ordering, “Run Aaron! Run to Unca.”

The older boy ran back to his mother’s side, and kneeled beside her to stroke her hair, whispering, “You’ll be okay, Mommy, you’ll be okay.” Tears tracked down his face and, twenty feet away, the younger child trailed to a halt, sucking on his thumb, unsure what to do.

Still running at full tilt, Jensen pulled off his silver impregnated gloves, he didn’t want to hurt the child. When he reached them, Jensen knelt and tried to calm the boy as he checked to see if Taylor was okay. She had a knot on her forehead where she'd fallen, but was otherwise fine. “S’okay, son. You and your mommy are going to be fine. We just need to ask you a few questions and take you somewhere safe. Call your brother over. Patrick, right? Can I call you Patrick? You and Aaron and your mom should all be together.”

Speaking calmly to the boy, Jensen gently pulled Taylor’s arms behind her back. He grimaced as he straddled her body and slapped the silver cuffs on. The low level burn of the silver brought her awake with a start, the stun burning off fast with her were metabolism. She screamed as she tried to rear up, her feet kicking. “Run, boys, run.”

With her above average were strength Jensen barely had enough leverage to keep her pinned to the ground. She got in a few good kicks to his hurt leg before he finally immobilized her.

Patrick hesitated long enough for Jensen to snake out an arm to grab the boy. Patrick exploded in a frenzied ball of fury, kicking, biting, and screaming, “Mama, Mama, Mama!” Trying not to hurt the child, Jensen was eventually able to wrap a child sized twist chain, embedded with only enough silver to prevent the boy from shifting, around the small wrist. Working quickly and efficiently he linked a leash between the mother’s cuffs and the chain, tethering the mother and child together. Job done, Jensen looked down the street for the younger boy, but, Aaron was gone.

Cursing softly, he focused his attention on trying to calm the whimpering boy, “Burns, Mama, burns.” He cried, setting Taylor off into another round of struggles. “Let him go. Don’t you hurt my baby! Don’t you hurt my baby! It’s okay, Patrick, it’s okay. Mama’s here.”

The creak of a car door in the early morning quiet had Jensen looking up in time to see the two LEOs exit their unmarked car. He pressed his knee into Taylor’s back, holding the struggling woman in place as he drew his gun again. He pointed it squarely at the advancing officers.

“If you’re not here to help step away, or by God, I will shoot you.” Jensen shouted in warning and toggled the gun to kill. The two officers raised their hands shaking their heads. “Marshal, we’re here to help.”

Jensen stepped back, his gun still leveled on the men. He used both hands on the weapon to steady himself, as adrenaline pumped through him. “Put her in my truck. I don’t want to risk you two heroes taking off with her. Collect their things and take Felicia in your vehicle. We’ll meet back at the station. And for the record, you're going to have to answer for your actions here.”

Nodding, one of the men helped Taylor up and led her and her boy to Jensen’s truck, while the other man placed Felicia under arrest. All their attitudes were subdued, and Patrick clung to his mother, crying.

Jensen called over to the man bundling the still stunned Day into the undercover vehicle, “I want her tested for the Lycus gene, as well.”

Side-eyeing the men, Jensen carefully holstered his weapon and wrestled his cell phone from his pocket and called the sheriff.

“Beaver here.” Jim’s gruff voice came on the line, no sign that he’d been asleep.

“I’ve got Taylor and one of her boys, and the sister, and you’ve got a problem.”

Jensen escorted Taylor to a state mandated were cell at the back of detention. The room looked like it had never been used, not a single scuff on the walls. Well maintained too, the sheets on the two sets of bunks smelling sweet from a recent laundering. Jensen’s eyebrows rose in surprise. Loose weres weren’t an everyday occurrence, but a town the size of Munter’s Gorge should have seen one or two pass through its doors over the years. But, he guessed it was better than the state of disrepair he usually found them in. The cell was clean and in order, with a partially screened bathroom area with a sink, shower and toilet.

First things first, he had Taylor face the wall while he snapped a silver anklet and leash on her. The long chain leash would give her access to the whole cell while preventing her from shifting. Next, he removed the leash that connected Patrick to his mother, but left on the silver twist chain to prevent the child from shifting as well. The last thing he did was remove Taylor’s silver cuffs. Patrick slid into her arms immediately with a soft whimper.

“Sorry, but these are all safety measures we need to take until we can get you and your boy moved to the rez.”

“What about my baby? What about Aaron, you bastard? He’s alone out there, helpless.”

“We’ve already put out an amber plus alert, and we’ll do everything we can to find him. You could help by telling us who this ‘unca’ is you told him to run to? We could start there.”

Two pairs of blue eyes stared at him stonily. “Or not help us. Then what happens, ma’am, is on you.” Jensen rubbed his forehead. It was only nine o’clock, and he was more than ready to call it quits for the day.

“So you can condemn him to life on the rez,” Taylor spit on the pristine floor. “I’d rather he die free,” she said defiantly.

“I won’t debate this with you. I’m sure you’re aware you have the right to be tested. I’m pretty positive of the results we’ll get, but if you insist, we can go through with testing on the off chance the boys are Lycus free. But life on the rez is the only legally certified alternative for weres, according to the charter.”

“Fuck you and your charter and your tests. You go and live on one then, see if they are so great.”

“I won’t debate this with you, ma’am. Weres have proven themselves to be a danger again and again to the human population. You need to be quarantined.”

Jensen tipped his hat. “But we’ll do everything we can to find your son and bring him back safe.”

Patrick looked at his mom with wide, wet eyes, “Is Aaron gonna be okay, Mommy?”

Taylor pulled Patrick into a hug and whispered, “He’s going to be fine, baby. Don’t you worry.”

“What do you mean you don’t want to do anything? Those officers were blatantly insubordinate; they were in direct violation of their duty. By Federal Marshal guidelines they could be charged with treason!” Jensen angrily angled his head, the tendons in his neck popping. “Jesus, Jim, they just sat there. She could have shifted and tore me apart – a mom and her pups! Come on!” Jensen slammed his fist on the thick oak of Beaver’s desk, and the pens and pencils danced in their holders.

“Now simmer down, son, I’m not sayin’ they won’t be punished. Except we got ourselves a small town here. Folks have been livin’ here long before you came along, and will be here long after you’re off to the next case, and we don’t want to overstate things. So I’m asking you to go home, cool off, and see what you really remember about Taylor’s arrest before I ruin two good cops' careers.”

Jensen's lip curled in disdain. He started to pace, prowling around Beaver’s office like a large predatory cat, angry and dangerous.

Beaver scratched at his beard, squinting at Jensen. His pale blue eyes were full of sympathy. “Listen, son, I know you’re simply tryin’ to do your job, but a lot of people around here have been out to the rez and don’t much hold with how they treat folks there, were or otherwise. And Ty was well liked. He never caused a lick of trouble all the time he was here in town. He made Taylor very happy.”

Jensen paused in his pacing and gave Beaver a hard look. “You’re talking dangerously like a were sympathizer, sheriff.”

Beaver stood and rubbed his neck with obvious irritation. “All I’m sayin’ is, maybe when you ask a guy to send one of their own, that they grew up with, went to school with, to the rez, all because she loved a man from the wrong side of the gene pool, they are gonna think twice, maybe hesitate a little. And the sister, we can charge her with obstruction, but I’d rather we just let her go. She hasn’t reacted to the silver on the cuffs or your gloves so I don’t think she’s a were. Hasn’t she lost enough too?”

The obvious compassion in Beaver’s words poked a hole in Jensen’s carefully cultivated rage and he slumped into a chair in front of the sheriff’s desk, suddenly deflated.

Beaver moved around his desk and sat half cheeking it, on the edge. He put a hand on Jensen’s shoulder. “Now, go home, before you seriously piss me off. You look dead on your feet. You’re sure that leg of yours is healin’?”

Jensen ran his hand over his mouth and looked out the window. He couldn’t take the gentle, pitying look on the sheriff’s face.

Sighing heavily, Beaver stood and walked over to his office door. “I think we’re done here for now, so, scat. I’m serious. We’ll pick this back up tomorrow with cooler heads. I’m assuming you’ll be wantin’ to take Taylor and Patrick to the rez yourself?”

At Jensen’s terse nod, Beaver continued. “I’m sure Aaron will pop to the surface like a cork any time now. A little feller like that will be needin’ his mom pretty quick. It’s only a matter of time."

Opening the door, Beaver gave Jensen a pointed look, “Seems like this pretty much ties up your business here at Munter’s Gorge then, don’t it?”

Climbing back in to the cab of his truck Jensen paused before starting it up. Was the case over? He’d caught his were, and his mate and cubs. There’d been no evidence to support a pack, just a lone wolf setting up house and turning a human. Why then did it feel like he’d only scratched the surface of Munter’s Gorge?

He’d hunted weres by the hundreds in as many different towns, but he'd never encountered this tightly bound sense of community before. People here had gone to incredible lengths because of shared bonds of trust and love to protect their own. Trust, just like the trust Jared had placed in him. Jensen’s gut twisted with something suspiciously like guilt.

Or maybe he was merely tired. Jensen rubbed his forehead. His head was throbbing in time with his leg. He’d give Williams a call in the morning and get his captain’s opinion of all this. Jensen had his suspicions, but short of shaking a gloved hand with every resident of Munter’s Gorge, he wasn’t sure he was going to get much further with interviews and surveillance. For now, he wanted to pop a couple of pills and grab a few hours uninterrupted sack time. Wearily, he turned the key in the ignition.

 

It was the quickest route out of town, or so he told himself as he drove too slowly past The Wired Bean. He paused in traffic and watched Jared behind the cash as he helped a customer. Jared laughed at something the elderly man said, and Jensen could see the dimples all the way from the other side of the road. Jared’s shiny, floppy brown hair telegraphed his movements when he tossed his head back and grinned. Jensen squirmed uncomfortably in the seat as his cock plumped in his pants.

The honk of an impatient motorist made Jared’s head rear up. Jensen was caught like a deer in the headlights looking directly at him. Jensen’s chest suddenly felt three sizes too small as he watched Jared’s breath catch and his mouth open in a small ‘o’ of surprise. Looking at the hurt, vulnerable look on his face made Jensen’s mouth go dry. He wanted nothing more than to pull over and go in and comfort the man. Reality came crashing back down when Jared’s shoulders jerked, and he hurriedly glanced away, his mouth set in a thin line.

Jensen stopped breathing.

A second honk had his foot automatically pressing on the gas, and his truck bucked forward. Gritting his teeth, Jensen forced himself to look forward and concentrate on the road.

 

By mid afternoon Jensen broke. His eyes were dry and itchy from staring at the screen and he’d had enough. He'd been trying to finish his report for the last few hours. Mostly though, he’d been thinking about Jared. He tossed his file on the case back in his bag and closed his laptop. His coffee sat beside him, untouched. The aromatic smell of Jared Java silently condemned him.

He rubbed his hand over his eyes and limped into the bedroom. It had been a long night and a longer day. Maybe after a couple hours sleep, he’d have more perspective on things.

He popped a few more pain pills and, chased them with a couple of fingers of Wild Turkey. It wasn’t quite to prescription, but he was desperate for sleep, and he didn’t want to run any chance of dreaming. After kicking off his boots and stripping out of his jeans, he propped his leg up on the bed to give it a look. With the bandages off, he could easily see why it hurt so badly. The welts where he'd been clawed looked angry and red, and the skin was hot to the touch.

Taylor had gotten in a few good licks when he’d taken her down, and Jensen could see the bruises blossoming on the scoured flesh. He carefully applied more of the antibiotic ointment he’d been prescribed, and made a mental note to drop by the doctor’s office again tomorrow before going to the station. After surviving the were attack, it would be pretty pathetic to die of infection.

Stretching out on the bed in his boxers and T-shirt, too hot to get under the covers, he threw an arm over his eyes and willed himself to sleep.

_The overwhelming heat had turned his bedroom a sweltering oven. Coughing and gasping for breath, Jensen woke with a start. Smoke was seeping under the door and through the vents in the floor. Trembling in fear, he climbed out of his bed and ran to his big brother Cam’s room, next door._

_“Cam, Cam, Cam! Fire, Cam!”_

_His brother met him at the door. At seventeen, Cam was almost six feet tall, with sun kissed brown hair and green eyes a mirror to Jensen’s own. Unlike Jensen, Cam wasn’t cursed with goofy freckles and a pale, easy to burn complexion. No, Cam had a gold tint to his skin, like a perennial tan, and all the girls said he was dreamy. But right now, his hair was sticking up at odd angles, and his emerald eyes were wide with fear. “J! What the heck happened? We gotta warn Madison, and Mom and Dad. You call Maddy, and I’ll wake Mom and Dad.” At Jensen’s quick nod Cam darted down the smoky hallway. “Mom, Dad, fire!” he yelled as Jensen ran to Madison’s door and banged on it repeatedly._

_“Madison, Madison, wake up! Wake up!” Jensen’s small fists battered on the solid wood of the old farmhouse door. They had only been moved into the house six months or so ago, and their new neighbors had made things more than a little uncomfortable for them all._

_Madison, thirteen, seven years older than Jensen, came to the door, in pink_ My Little Pony _pajamas, her long blond hair tucked into a neat ponytail down her back._

_Before Jensen could speak, Cam yelled from the other end of the smoke filled hall at Madison, “Maddy, the house is on fire. Take Jensen and go climb out over the porch and down the trellis. The stairs are too full of smoke. I’ve got Mom and Dad. Meet you outside.”_

_Nodding wordlessly, Madison clamped her hand down on Jensen’s with a death grip. Jensen looked at her, and his bottom lip trembled at her worried expression. He’d fallen out of the old oak tree he and Cam had been playing on a couple of weeks earlier and was more than a little scared of heights._

_Madison smiled weakly and tugged him into her room and shut the door on the billowing smoke filling the hallway. “S’okay Jen, you won’t fall. You trust me, right?” At Jensen’s quick nod, Madison continued, “I’ll go first.” Madison looked at him, her blue eyes wide. “Come on.” She smiled tremulously. Jensen tried to match her smile, and failed miserably. But he followed her obediently to stand shoulder to shoulder in front of one of the two tall windows in her bedroom that faced the front of the house._

_Through the open window, they climbed out onto the tin roof of the veranda. The light of the full moon made it easy to see. Crawling on hands and knees, moonlight reflecting off the ridges in the metal roofing made short work of finding their way to the edge. When he glanced back, Jensen could see flames already starting to lick out his sister’s bedroom window. The fire was spreading fast. He started to tremble, and edged closer to his sister. “’M scared, Mads.”_

_“I am too, but right now, we need to get to the ground. We can be scared later, just do like Cam said.”_

_Howling echoed through the woods, and Madison and Jensen stared at each other, their eyes wide._

_“Wolves, Mads. I never seen a wolf before.”_

_“Come on, Jen, move it.” Madison let her legs stick out over the edge of the roof, her feet flailing until she found the first rung of the old painted trellis. “Okay, you come right after me. It’s not that far to the ground, and then we can run to the trees for cover.”_

_Jensen nodded solemnly, and after Madison’s head disappeared below the porch roof, Jensen swung his shorter legs out over the side. He couldn’t find a rung though, and started to whimper in fear, but a small hand grabbed his ankle and guided his foot to the right spot._

_“Don’t be afraid, Jen. I’m here,” She whispered fiercely._

_Heart thumping like a drum in his chest, Jensen followed Madison to the ground without incident. They stepped clear of the heat and flying sparks. Flames were licking out from every window now. They called out for the others. “Mom, Dad, Cam, over here!”_

_No one answered and the howling sounded like it was coming closer, and it was getting louder!_

_Jensen looked around wildly. He was trying so hard to be brave like he knew Cam wanted him to be, but a tear escaped and rolled down his cheek. Madison crouched down beside him and tugged on the sleeve of his brand new Batman pajamas mom had gotten him last week._

_“Jen, Jensen, listen! I want to go around the other side of the house, see if Cam and Mom and Dad got out their window. If they didn’t, I know there’s a ladder over by the barn. Maybe I could help.”_

_Jensen started toward the barn, but Madison hand on his arm stopped him._

_“No, Jen, I don't want to put both of us in danger. I want you to stay here, out of sight. I want you to run over to that big old oak tree that you and Cam are always goofing around on, and I want you to climb as high as you can, and stay there.”_

_Jensen stared at his sister, and he could feel more tears trickling down his cheeks. “But, Maddy, I want to help too. Don’t want to be here by myself.” Jensen knew his voice came out in a whine. Maddy didn’t seem to notice, though._

_“I don’t want to scare you, but that howling isn’t good. I need you to stay safe, like Cam said, and keep you away from them.” She ran her fingers through his spikey hair like she did when she was reading him a bedtime story, and Jensen leaned into her touch, hiccupping as he tried to keep from crying. He was six, not a baby anymore. He needed to be brave. His mouth trembled though, and not trusting himself to speak, Jensen simply nodded. His sister stood, kissed him on the cheek, and steered him toward the woods. “Go on now. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”_

_Jensen clutched his thin arms around his sister giving her a hug before he ran towards the edge of the forest. The howling was getting louder._

_Jensen ran to the old oak just inside the edge of the forest. Cam had showed him how to get to the first big limb a few times, and one time even to the second, but that’s when he’d fallen. It scared him, looking up at the towering oak, but Mads' idea was good. He had never read anything about wolves being able to climb. If he could get high enough, he’d have a better lookout on the farm. He was scared, but a small part of him was excited, too. He’d never seen a wolf before, and had kind of always wanted to see one, not just in books._

_Mama said they weren’t happy with them taking over old Mr. Brewster’s land, said it should have stayed in the family. But Mama and Daddy didn’t know that when they bought it. They had wanted to buy a home in the country, where Daddy could write, and Mommy would be happy._

_With the howls getting louder by the minute, Jensen hurried to clamber up the battle scarred tree. The rough bark dug into his hands, and it hurt. He bit his lip in concentration and tried to remember all the foot and handholds Cam had shown him._

_He was tired and his legs were shaking from the strain by the time he got to the first major branch, about ten feet up. He looked down at himself and grinned in celebration. Sure, he had bark and sap on his fingers, and twigs and leaves in his hair, and the feet of his pajamas, torn and shredded by the climb were no protection now from nicks and scratches, but he had done it._

_Jensen leaned out and stared down at the ground nervously. He wondered how high a wolf could jump. The next big limb up looked about five or six feet higher. It was the one he had slipped and hurt himself trying to get to. Jensen gnawed at his lip. He peered through the branches and tried to see where Madison had gone, but there was no sign of her, or anyone._

_The house was burning bright. Sparks swirled in the air and danced overhead. If it hadn’t been so scary it would have been pretty. All Jensen could think about was how all their stuff was burning. His bear, Cody, and his new glasses he and Mommy had picked out. He'd forgotten to grab them when he ran out of his room. And Mads' ballerina jewelry box she got for her birthday last year. He loved to listen to it at night when he was going to bed. Madison would deliberately open it and let it play just for him._

_A growl from below startled him, and Jensen jumped, bumping his back against the trunk of the tree. He wobbled, one foot slipping off the branch, and he started to tip over before his frantically clutching hands grabbed on to the trunk in time to prevent himself from falling._

_Clutching onto the trunk for dear life he stared down, into two deep blue eyes and dozens of sharp, sharp teeth. He hung there, mesmerized as a huge brown wolf stared up at him from the foot of the oak tree, its jaws trembling with fury. Saliva dripped from its mouth, its haunches bunching as if to leap straight for Jensen’s throat._

_Jensen’s arm tightened convulsively around the tree trunk and he glanced up, gauging how to get to the next limb. From the size of the wolf, Jensen needed to get there fast. Yips and howls from the far side of the house, though, made him pause. Jensen glanced over his shoulder in time to see his mom, dad, brother, and sister being herded out from behind the house by a pack of scarily large wolves._

_His dad was staggering, and Cam and Mom were helping him to walk. By moonlight he could see blackness spreading quickly across his father’s shirt. Jensen sucked in a shocked breath. Maddy screamed as a wolf darted in and snapped at her. Madison rushed to get closer to Mom and Cam, clutching her arm against her side like it had been injured._

_Jensen’s fingers dug painfully into the bark of the tree. Every instinct he had urged him to go after his parents, but the blue-eyed wolf below wasn’t moving. Two smaller wolves joined it and it growled and tossed its head toward the pack and his family. With howls of glee, the two raced off to join them._

_A ripping, shredding sound drew Jensen’s attention and his eyes grew wide when he looked down to see the wolf starting to claw its way up the tree toward him. He screamed in terror, and hastily started to climb, desperately praying that his feet wouldn't slip. His hands trembled at the strain, as he threaded his way through the twisty network of leaves and branches._

_He reached the second large juncture of limbs, and out of breath but all in one piece this time, he looked down. Impossibly, the wolf had managed to climb to the first limb. There was something odd about its shape, though, that made Jensen look closer. His gut clenched, and he gulped repeatedly in an attempt not to throw up. In the moonlight, the wolf wasn’t quite a wolf anymore, it had shifted somehow as it climbed, and now had mostly the body of a man but the snout and the razor sharp claws of a wolf. Jensen swallowed back the sick taste in his mouth. It was coming for him, death in its deep blue eyes._

_Jensen quivered in terror. He jumped, almost losing his balance as Madison and Mommy started to scream, but he couldn't see them now through the leaves. Desperate to catch a glimpse of his family and terrified of the nightmare thing coming for him, Jensen pushed his exhausted body higher up the tree._

_Tears slipped down his cheeks as he climbed. He could hear the man-wolf as it smashed its way through the heavy covering of foliage, razor-like claws digging into the wood and eating up the distance between them. Already dizzy, Jensen was afraid to look down. He thought of what Cam would do if he were here, and scraping his courage together, he forced himself to reach for the next limb._

_Snarling, the wolf swiped at him. The edge of one claw caught the bottom of Jensen’s batman pajamas, shredding through the soft cotton and gouging Jensen’s heel. He screamed, and shaking, he shimmied his body up even higher._

_With one eye on the pursuing wolf man, Jensen kept climbing. Soon the branches were so slight they could barely support Jensen’s weight, let alone the man-wolf’s and the creature was forced to stop. Jensen wheezed out a sob of relief and rested his head against a bough. He looked down and the man-wolf crouched there in the limbs glowering, at him, his blue eyes promising retribution._

_He could hear Madison sobbing now, and Cam screamed, his parents both begging and pleading for the wolves to stop, to go away. Jensen reached an opening in the branches, where he could hold on better._

_Enraged Jensen’s wolf took that opportunity to start shaking the branches, pushing them this way and that as it howled in rage. Jensen clung on for dear life and the upper limbs swayed precariously, but the wolf couldn’t dislodge him._

_Heart thundering in his chest, Jensen reached out a cautious hand to grab at another slender branch and leaned forward. The branch dipped under his weight, and wobbled precariously, but from this new angle, he could see the front drive and the circle of wolves. Through the shroud of leaves he could make out Cam stumbling forward, struggling as a wolf leapt at his back and knocked him away from his father and mother. Jensen screamed as the wolf’s maw opened and gleaming sharp teeth bit into his brother’s neck and jerked his brother’s body around like a rag doll._

_Jensen screamed. “Let him go!” His voice was lost amid the growing howls for blood._

_He sobbed and gripped his branches tighter, squeezing his eyes shut as he cried out, “Stop it, stop it, please! Please don’t hurt my mommy and daddy, please. We’ll leave your farm. Please just go.”_

_The pack didn’t even notice his cries. One by one, they began to howl, and Jensen wished his hands were free so he could cover his ears, so he couldn’t hear them or his family's cries._

_His breath caught when he saw Maddy dart out from the circle of wolves and start hitting the wolf holding their brother. The wolf snarled, but it wasn’t letting Cam go. Cam’s arms flailed weakly, but he could do nothing. Then one of the biggest wolves Jensen had ever seen leapt out of the pack and landed on Madison. It slammed her to the ground and stood with one big paw in the middle of her back, holding her down. It was pure black, the color so dark Jensen could only see it by the glints of moonlight on its shiny fur. The only thing of lightness about it was its bright golden eyes. Jensen could see them glowing like molten gold from clear across the yard. Without warning, it crouched down, growling, and grabbed her by the neck, jerking Maddy sideways._

_Jensen could hear the snap._

_The black wolf raised its head and howled triumphantly, Maddy’s body limp and lifeless at its feet. It stepped back and nodded toward the pack. At that signal, growling and yipping, dozens of wolves descended on her body._

_Jensen had to look away. He could hear the terrible snarling and ripping sounds as they tore his sister’s body apart. He couldn’t see her, but he could hear his mother scream and scream and scream. When he looked up all trace of Maddy was gone, and the pack was dragging Cam’s body off where he couldn’t see him anymore. All he could make out were the long shadows of the leaping and jumping wolves cast by the light of the burning house, as they danced in a circle, the outline of the huge black wolf at its center._

_It was almost worse when the screaming stopped._

_Numbly, Jensen hung there until he was too exhausted to cry anymore. He was roused by the sound of claws digging into bark. When he looked down he realized that the blue-eyed man-wolf must have grown bored when it couldn’t maneuver its body any higher. Jensen watched listless as it slowly backtracked down the tree, retreated to the ground, and trotted off to join the pack._

_His hands almost numb from clinging to the branches, Jensen took the opportunity to crawl down to a sturdier part of the oak, confident that if need be he could climb back up again in time. He settled into a branch with a wide V in it. Straddling it, he collapsed against the rough bough, wrapping his thin arms around it in exhaustion. He tried not to watch the flickering shadows as the wolves celebrated his family’s death._

 

_He awoke with a start to the smell of burning. He looked down into the malicious gold eyes of the pack’s huge black leader as it dropped a burning barn board at the foot of Jensen’s tree. Others from the pack were doing the same, including his blue-eyed tormentor from earlier. The wolves were using their mouths to pick up pieces of burning wood or brush and dragging or carrying it to the base of the oak. Jensen started to cough as the flames began to spread around the trunk. His feet were growing hot, through the shredded cotton footies of his pajamas. He whimpered in fear, as the fire licked up the sides of the tree._

_A commanding howl from the black furred leader brought pack’s heads up, almost as one, they each dropped their bits of burning wood and branches and they all raced off to the other side of the farm, leaving Jensen alone as the flames rose higher._

 

Overwhelming heat woke him and Jensen rose with a start, eyes wide in the dark. The house was on fire. He could smell the smoke and this was no dream. From the woods beyond the cabin he could hear howling. Pack!

Comments always appreciated ^^

 


	6. Judgment

[  
](http://meus-venator.livejournal.com/67191.html)

 

Jensen grabbed his handgun off the bedside table and the knife he kept under his pillow at night when he was on the job and slid soundlessly to the floor. Staying away from the window and the light switch, he hurried into his jeans and snatched up his bulletproof vest; it would be the best protection against claws.

The flames were centered in the back of the main living area of the cabin shared by the bedroom. The wood paneling was already darkening on that wall in his bedroom, and the drapes on the window had started to catch fire.

The fire left a clear escape route to the front door. It was pretty obvious the weres wanted to force him out through the front door. Running to the bathroom, he wet a face cloth and breathed through it while he gathered his holster and a bandolier of extra ammo from his satchel. He snatched quick looks out the windows as the glass crazed and cracked, to see where they were gathering. Equipped as well as he could be in the circumstances, he strapped on the thigh holster for his blade and pulled on his black Marshal's jacket. The material was made of Kevlar fiber, impregnated with silver. It would be hard to shred and painful for the wolves to grab and hold onto. One more line of defence against the enemy.

He tried his cell; as expected, the signal was dead. This deep in the woods it wouldn’t have been hard to knock out a repeater tower and have the whole area go dark. He tried his land line, it was dead, too. Pocketing his cell, he laced up his boots. A couple hours' hard run through the woods, and he might be in range of another tower. The smoke was really starting to roll. Even through the wet cloth, it was getting hard to breathe.

He glanced around in the darkness for anything else he could easily carry, or had forgotten, and spotted nothing. He tugged on the rope that dangled from the hallway ceiling, and the stairs slid to the floor without a squeak, thanks to some preventative measures. As the howls around the cabin grew in pitch, Jensen climbed up into the dingy, cramped attic, and pulled up the stairs, closing off the attic access behind him. It was insufferably hot and smoky up here. Holding his breath, Jensen wasted no time feeling his way around for the rudimentary hatch he’d installed in the roof for just such an occasion. Hunter 101: always have another means of egress. He hefted the ax he’d left by the hatch and eased it open.

The evening air was blissfully cool on his face, and Jensen quickly clambered out onto the roof. The old wood shakes were hot underfoot as he crept over to the edge and peered down. By the light of the burning building, he could see eight or nine wolves posted by the front door, while others patrolled the perimeter. From their sheer numbers, Jensen knew he was very possibly screwed.

Even if he made it off the roof, as soon as the pack caught his scent they would be on him in seconds. Still, he couldn’t sit here and cook, or wait for them to tear him apart. He had to try to make it to the nearby creek and hopefully lose them in the water. He changed the setting on his gun to tangler. If he did run into a wolf out there, he couldn’t afford the noise of a bullet. It would bring the whole pack down on him.

He waited until two large grey wolves did their circuit around the back of the cabin and disappeared toward the front before dropping to the ground. He landed in a crouch; the force of the drop pushed a soft grunt of pain past his lips as his wounded leg protested the abrupt landing. Hunkered over, gun in hand, he dashed for the cover of the forest's edge.

No fresh howls went up to alert the pack, and Jensen sent up a small prayer of thanks. As soon as he reached the cover of the trees, he set off in a headlong rush toward the water, gun drawn at his side. He was under no illusions, even armed as he was. He was no match for eight, possibly more, fully grown wolves.

A snarl had him whirling around, gun raised. He scanned the area around him for potential attackers, but he could see nothing. Wiping the sweat from his eyes, Jensen cursed and took a calculated risk to keep going. He started to run again and growls came from the left of him. He veered to the right. It was still several hundred yards to the water. He could hear branches breaking in the darkness and the soft yip of wolves closing on him, just out of view. His heart was pounding like a drum, but he kept moving. Another growl to the right had him dodging to the left. This time he could see the faint green glow of a wolf’s eyes in the darkness. He was being deliberately herded.

In the waning moonlight, his breakneck run was brought to an abrupt halt when he tripped over a fallen log. He screamed as his wounded leg smashed against a gnarly root sticking up from the ground. He climbed quickly to his feet, gun firmly in hand, his ears straining to hear: how many, which directions. Howls and barks were coming toward him from all sides. As the sounds grew louder he limped backward, his free hand grasping at the trees for support as he tried to pinpoint their location. If he was going down, he was going to take as many of them with him as he could.

Another growl and he fired. A satisfying yip of pain and surprise, and the hissing buzz of the coils tightening let him know he’d gotten at least one. The howls stopped as the wolves circled their fallen pack mate.

With the wolves distracted for the moment, he knew he needed to act now. He toggled the gun to flame. Last time he checked, were fur still burned. With a grim sense of determination he pulled the trigger, sending a flaming arc of fire out from his gun. He turned, panning in a three quarter circle, lighting up everything around him. Snarls and yips of pain and anger echoed through the trees, and the smell of burning fur and flesh filled the air. When the cylinder exhausted, he turned and broke into a limping run toward the river when a very human, very naked figure stepped out from behind the trunk of a tree in front of him. Jensen barely had time to register Pellegrino’s cruel smile before the man’s fist caught him in the jaw with a lot more than human strength.

Jensen didn’t remember hitting the ground.

His head bounced against a metal floor and he moaned as his possibly broken nose connected with the unyielding surface. There were ridges in the metal that dug into his skin, and something pressed up close against his face. Jensen experienced a moment of terrifying claustrophobia until he realized it was a hood or a sack over his head, and he could still breathe through the stale-smelling cloth.

The cold night air whistled through the open weave of the material, and the motor noise and movement of what he realized was a bumpy ride made it a good guess he was lying on his belly on an open flat bed, most likely a half-ton truck. His hands and feet were bound, had been for long enough they'd long gone numb, so he’d been in the vehicle for a while. He had an aching lump at the back of his head, where he must have hit the ground after Pellegrino clocked him. Barely conscious, Jensen was flung helplessly to the side as the vehicle jostled its way down a pot-hole filled dirt road.

Though he was barely able to move now, Jensen calmed his breathing and tried to assess if they’d overlooked anything that could be potentially useful later on. He was cold, at some point he’d been stripped out of his jacket and riot vest, leaving him exposed to the October weather in nothing but his t-shirt and jeans. Goose bumps already covered his freezing flesh. The familiar weight of his secondary weapon was gone from his ankle, so they’d found that too.

Careful not to alert his captors that he was conscious, yet, Jensen tried to flex his numb hands, return some of the circulation. They were tightly bound behind his back with a rough fibered rope. He tugged carefully, trying to loosen one of the knots, but they weren’t coming free anytime soon. His wounded leg throbbed with a dull ache. Even if he could kneel up and maybe throw himself off the truck, and work his way free before they noticed he was missing, Jensen wasn’t sure he was capable of walking far in the shape he was in. He closed his eyes and listened carefully for signs of anyone else on the truck flatbed with him.

“I know you’re awake.” A deep voice Jensen didn't recognize came from somewhere above his left shoulder. “Heard your heart rate speed up. You thirsty?”

Jensen licked his parched lips and tried to swallow. Yeah, damn it, he was thirsty. Jensen nodded through the hood.

“Here. Hold still, no funny stuff.” The man rolled Jensen onto his back and untied the knots holding the hood around his neck. He only shoved the hood up as far as Jensen’s nose, deliberately leaving him blind. Jensen squirmed, but a big hand came down on the middle of his chest like a granite block and pinned him down. “You want to drink, sunshine? Or what?”

Jensen licked his lips, and forced his body to relax. He left his lips slightly parted, and nodded again.

The lip of a plastic bottle was thrust up against his mouth, and deliciously cold water started to stream down his throat. Jensen swallowed gratefully. The man paused several times to allow Jensen to breathe. Thirst finally quenched, Jensen shook his head.

“Had enough?”

“Yeah, thanks.” Jensen coughed and turned his head to the side, drinking in the cool night air after the stuffiness of the hood.

He could sense the man crouched above him, waiting patiently.

“Where are you taking me?” Jensen’s voice was scratchy and raw, almost a growl. He almost didn’t expect an answer.

“Pack lands. The Alpha ordered your capture. We’re taking you back for judgment.”

“Judgment?” He turned so he his head was facing the man, even if he couldn’t see him. It didn’t make him any less helpless at the moment, but it might help his captor to continue to deal with him like a human being.

“You killed Ty, and you were going to turn Taylor and her pup in to the rez. We couldn’t have that. You think you can simply come in here and kill or take away our people with no consequences?”

“I never knew there was a pack here.”

“And that’s just the way things are going to stay once we’ve dealt with you.”

The man pulled the hood back down, re-wrapping the length of rope around Jensen's neck to hold it in place. Conversation over.

“Quiet now. We got us a long ride.”

Maybe it was the rocking motion of the flatbed once they hit paved road, or maybe it was the possible concussion from his fall, but in spite of shivering from the cold, Jensen slept for most of it. The only other thing he remembered about the drive was that when he woke again, the sky was lightening where it filtered through the rough weave of his hood. Sunrise, then.

A booted foot nudged him.

“Come on, sunshine, time to get up.” The same voice as before, then an arm reached down and half helped, half lifted him to his feet. In spite of the freezing cold, his skin was hot to the touch and Jensen had to take a minute to stop the dizzy swirling of his head when he was finally standing.

“Winters, Foldbrook, take him to the woodshed and lock him up. I’ve got to turn all his stuff in to the alpha.”

Waiting hands pulled him down from the edge of the flatbed and arms looped through his bound arms and grabbed his waist, and started to drag him away.

“Oh if it ain’t the marshal we saw sniffing around town, the one that killed Ty. Word is, sweet thing, that we’re gonna have a chance to square things up for our brother.”

The one to his right said. “He’ll look so good hangin’ off my knot, don’t you think?”

Teeth nipped at his neck through the sack and Jensen snarled, “In your dreams, furball.”

A hand slid coarsely down his hip and rubbed across the cheek of his ass, grabbing a handful and squeezing painfully. Jensen grunted in protest and tried to jerk free. “You say that now, but once I’m balls deep, you’ll sing a different tune, pretty boy.”

The one to his left laughed, “Looks like he don’t like you so much, Foldbrook. Maybe, he’ll like me better. You gotta pet ‘em a bit.” The other were's hand slid forward around his waist and cupped Jensen’s crotch, massaging his uninterested cock through the thick material of his jeans.

Jensen flung himself back, catching the one to the left, Winters, under the chin with his head and then let himself fall, a deadweight. The sudden drop knocked his two captors off kilter; cursing, they hauled him back to his feet. “Paws off, wolf boys. Once I get out of here, I got a couple of one way tickets to the rez with your names on 'em.”

“Think you’re so tough, do you, Marshal?” Foldbrook said hitching Jensen’s bound hands up between his shoulder blades. Jensen grimaced in pain, his body forced into an arch like a bow. “Well, we’ll see what happens when you’re squirming under me tonight pleading for mercy. We’ll see how tough you are then. Hmm, lover?” A swift punch to Jensen’s gut doubled him over and knocked the air out of him. He grunted in pain and sagged between the two of them.

Jensen was dragged for some distance by his bound arms. Badly winded, his feet still bound, he had no choice but to hang from their grip, a dead weight. Desperate to keep his mind occupied, he counted seconds as the men carried him from the vehicle.

Winters and Foldbrook slowed, and there was a creak of old iron hinges before he was hoisted to standing. With a harsh laugh from his captors, he was shoved roughly through the door. Disoriented and unable to protect himself, he landed awkwardly in a bed of wood chips and damp bark, as the door slammed behind him. He could hear the sound of chains and a lock being snapped shut.

“Sit tight, Marshal. We’ll be seeing you later.” The voice of one of the weres muffled by the door taunted him as they departed.

Jensen wriggled around and was finally able to prop himself up against a stack of logs behind him, his feet straight out in front of him. It was warmer in the shed, but Jensen couldn’t trust his body's thermostat right now. He was sweating heavily beneath the hood. With his eyes covered, he had been unable to learn much about where they’d brought him, except that he “had until tonight.” That’s when they were going to call ‘Judgment’ on him and put him down.

He groped around through the chips and bark in his vicinity for anything useable to cut through his bonds, but found nothing. Of course, there could be a big pair of scissors hanging on the wall right beside him and he wouldn’t know it. He rolled his body toward the door and, sitting up again, repeated the process. His leg, aggravated by the hit he’d taken when he’d tripped in the woods last night, hurt like hell, and his hands were sore and bleeding where the coarse rope had rubbed the skin off his wrists. He had to stop a few times as dizziness, or waves of chills, or alternatively, fever, raged through his body. After several more drop and rolls, exploring the circumference of the building, Jensen was pretty sure they’d locked him up in an old woodshed.

He was close to giving up when he finally found it: a jagged metal shard, probably a tooth from an old saw blade. It was small and awkward as hell to use, but until tonight, at least, all he had was time. Jensen leaned his back against the wall of the shed and started to dig at the knots tying his hands. It was hot and stuffy as he labored. Eventually, Jensen gave up all pretext of sight, and closed his eyes against the sweat trickling into them, inside the sweltering hood.

What seemed like hours later, the first strands of the coarse rope finally started to pull apart. He sent a silent prayer to whoever might be looking out for him, and kept sawing. He had to stop frequently as people, weres, he assumed, walked by the shed. With their acute hearing, they might actually hear the small frantic, scratching sounds of his dull shard on the rope. Eventually, the last rough strand gave way and almost completely numb, Jensen’s hands were able to drop forward and hang at his sides. He gave himself a moment, working his fingers, to get the circulation back, before he attempted to untie the rope holding the hood over his head.

He had barely started work on the ropes binding his legs when he heard voices outside. “We have him waiting inside, Alpha.”

The chains on the door rattled and Jensen quickly retied his hood and jammed his hands behind his back. He debated stashing the small blade under the bottom plate of the wall stud of the shed. In the end he settled on keeping it. Better a weapon in hand, than facing the weres completely defenseless. He wiggled back closer to the wall seconds before the door opened and several people crowded in.

“Well, look what we have here.” Pellegrino’s voice was soft, but Jensen could hear the satisfaction in the man’s tone. How the hell did a were end up as a deputy sheriff? Jensen shook his head. He wondered if that made Beaver a were as well. Was he Pellegrino's innocent foil, or a ready accomplice? A pack this size didn’t hide without some high powered help. Who was behind them?

“More will come looking for me when they find out I’m missing, Pellegrino. You have to know that. We never lose a man, and this won’t go unavenged. Didn’t they teach you that in cop school? Or did you bribe your way onto the force?” Jensen put a sneer in his voice. He wanted to drive Pellegrino off as quickly as possible before he noticed anything was wrong.

“Oh. Marshal… You still really believe the company line that we’re simply a bunch of stupid animals? We know how to cover our tracks. The Hunter division won’t even blink when you’re gone.”

“If that’s what you need to tell yourself to sleep at night.” Jensen shrugged under the hood. “I’m telling you, I know you won’t get away with this. They’ll discover your pack’s cosy little community here, and tear it apart, piece by piece.”

“I don’t think so, but I didn’t stop by to squabble. I wanted to see how you’re doing. Earl was worried you weren’t well enough to stand judgment. Are you not well enough, Marshal?”

Hands were suddenly at Jensen’s hood, and it was quickly untied and lifted. Jensen’s grip tightened on the small saw blade tooth where he held it in his clenched palm. Frankly, his odds weren’t good, but this might be his only chance.

Squinting into the dim shed, as soon as Jensen could make out the form in front of him his arm was in motion, swinging toward Pellegrino’s jugular. He would go out big at least, taking the Alpha down with him. It would be enough.

A satisfyingly wide spray of blood hit his face and then a grip like steel around his wrist had Jensen crying out in pain.

“Tsk, tsk, Marshal, there you go underestimating us again.” Pellegrino’s voice mocked him over the ugly choking sounds of the were Jensen had struck bleeding out.

Jensen bit back a curse. The deputy sheriff hadn’t been the one loosening the hood, when Jensen’s eyesight cleared he could see him standing behind two other weres. One had a death grip on his hand, the hold so tight Jensen’s fingers had gone numb again, and he had been forced to drop the saw tooth, while the other were grabbed him by the throat pinning him to the wall. At his feet, unremarked by all, was a fourth were, now dead.

Pellegrino, now in his Sheriff's uniform, squatted down and scooped up the metal shard. “Hmm. I’ll be keeping this. And to make absolutely sure you don’t get up to any more trouble tonight…” Pellegrino pulled out his police issue cuffs and dangled them in front of Jensen.

“You can’t win, Pellegrino,” Jensen spat as the one holding his arm snapped a cuff on it. The one holding his throat shifted his grip behind Jensen’s neck and with were strength, bent Jensen forward like a limp rag doll so they could twist his arms back behind him and slap the cuff on his other wrist. When he was helpless, bound in steel, the were slammed Jensen back against the wall so hard his head bounced and his vision went black for a few seconds. When his head cleared he found the were’s hand clamped around his throat again, pinning him to the wall, apparently a favorite move. It was rapidly getting old.

Jensen tried to swallow past the tight hold on his throat and ended up coughing and sputtering. He blinked, tears in his eyes from coughing and glanced up at the deputy sheriff.

“Hmm, much better.” Pellegrino drawled, pacing back and forth in front of Jensen. “Now, I was going to offer you some medical care, but if you’re up to an escape attempt, I think Earl was worrying needlessly. Besides, you only have to last until tonight anyway.” A slow smile spread across his face. It didn’t reach his pale blue eyes. “I think the only thing that remains is the matter of avenging Hal's death here. He was a good man.”

Pellegrino nodded and the other were, Winters, Jensen thought, picked Hal up and carefully carried him outside. Next to him, Foldbrook’s lip lifted in a dissatisfied snarl, and he growled menacingly, his grip on Jensen’s throat tightened incrementally. The smell of blood was thick in the hot cramped shed.

“You’ll find, Marshal, that weres don’t go unavenged, either.” Pellegrino glanced at the man holding Jensen to the wall, “Foldbrook, I’m sure you and Winters can think up a suitable punishment for our marshal, here? Do what you want with him, but make sure nothing inhibits his performance tonight, and don’t knot him.”

Foldbrook rushed to nod affirmatively. “Yes sir. No problem, Alpha.”

“Until later, Marshal.” Pelligrino tipped his head.

Foldbrook turned to Jensen and forced his chin up to face him.

“Not so mouthy now, are we, pretty boy?”

By the time Winters returned to the shed, Foldbrook had Jensen face down on the ground. The were had let his fingers morph to a clawed hand, and had shredded Jensen’s t-shirt from his body with one swipe. His claws retracted, and he worked Jensen’s pants down around his knees. “Bastard,” Jensen had snarled. He shivered as the chilled air touched his exposed skin. He kicked out weakly at Foldbrook, but the were simply pressed his knee down onto the middle of Jensen’s back and pinned him in place as he shoved his jeans down to his bound ankles. Jensen screamed and almost passed out as the material was tugged down, scraping roughly over his wounds. He leaned his forehead against the woodchip strewn floor and struggled to breathe.

“Hey man, you hear the news?” Foldbrook grinned at Winters as Jensen heard him re-entered the shed.

“Yeah. I met the Alpha on the way back, and he filled me in.” Behind Jensen, Winters voice sounded mournful. “So we can’t knot him.”

The leer in Foldbrook’s voice was unmistakeable, “Yeah, but that still leaves us plenty of things to do with him.”

“Oh yeah? Wanna make him squeal, pay for Hal’s death.” Winters toed Jensen’s shoulder. “Isn’t that fitting, Marshal? You’re all about getting justice, aren't you?”

Jensen gritted his teeth and promised not to give them the satisfaction of crying out in pain.

“I was thinking we could put that mouth to better use, for starters,’” Without warning, Foldbrook knelt down over him, grabbing Jensen by the throat, and pulled him up and yanked him onto his knees, his back pressed tight against Foldbrook’s chest. His throat was once more held in the vice of Foldbrook’s hands.

“Fuck yeah, I’m on board with that.” Winters whistled and started loosening his belt. “Don’t fight me, Marshal, and this will go a whole hell of a lot smoother,” Winters cooed as he ran his hand over Jensen’s cheek before tugging down his zipper and pulling out his thickening cock. Jensen could see the darker ring of the alpha were’s knot at the base of his penis.

“Fuck you. You put that thing anywhere near me and I’ll bite it off.”

“Thought you might say that.” Foldbrook shifted his grip and grabbed Jensen’s head, jerking it back so far Jensen heard the bones in his neck creak. His other hand snaked between Jensen’s legs and wrapped around his testicles and squeezed. Hard.

Jensen screamed.

He didn’t pass out, but it was a near thing, Foldbrook squeezed until Jensen thought there was going to be permanent injury. When the were finally loosened his grip, Jensen sagged forward curling himself down in a protective ball as far as Foldbrook’s hold on his neck would allow. He gasped for breath.

Foldbrook’s fingers combed through Jensen’s hair in a parody of offering comfort.

“So do we have an understanding here, Marshal, of how this is going to go down? Or do I have to give you another lesson?” Foldbrook’s hand tightened in warning on Jensen’s balls.

Still panting for breath, Jensen could only nod. Foldbrook slung his free hand around Jensen’s chest and started to pluck at one of Jensen’s nipples.

“You show even a hint of teeth, and I rip your balls off.”

For emphasis, Foldbrook let his claws extend, pricking Jensen’s sack purposefully.

Jensen yelped in pain and lurched back in a vain attempt to escape.

“You didn't answer me, Marshal.”

“I heard you. I’m listening, but first chance I get, I’m taking you bastards out.”

Jensen’s remark was rewarded with a second sharp scrape of claws across his sack and Jensen screamed this time, trembling in pain.

“Do we need another lesson here before we go on?” Foldbrook’s claws retracted, and he rolled Jensen’s balls leisurely in his hand as he waited for an answer.

“No, just fucking do it. Get it over with, why don’t you.” Jensen spat out.

Foldbrook’s other hand abandoned the nipple he’d been squeezing and snaked down and grasped Jensen’s flaccid cock.

“Make it good for us, and I might even let you get off, human.” He rumbled.

Winters moan reminded Jensen of his presence. The were had been stroking himself, his cock plumping quickly in his hand while Foldbrook tortured Jensen. He stepped closer now and rubbed his fat dick over Jensen’s cheek.

“Open wide, Marshal. Anything as pretty as you must be gaggin’ for it.”

Winters grabbed the back of Jensen’s head, and forcefully guided him down toward his cock.

“Fuck, come on.” Winters moaned as he pushed his cock against Jensen’s stubbornly closed lips.

Another warning squeeze to his balls and Jensen gasped; Winters cock pushed into his mouth. He choked as Winters shoved inside, not leaving him any time to adjust to his considerable girth.

Near his ear, a huff of warm air as Foldbrook chuckled.

“You like that, pretty boy? You look so fucking hot with those lips wrapped around his cock. You’re a natural born cocksucker, son.

Jensen tried to rear back as Winters shoved in further and Jensen gagged.

Winters thrust in and out a few times and then withdrew. Jensen drew in a hasty breath.

“I don’t think he’s trying hard enough, Evan.” Winters whined, “Don’t seem to be into it, like he should.”

Jensen bit back a whimper as Foldbrook replied, “Oh really?” The were started to squeeze again, and Jensen bit back a scream. The weres' hold gave him no room to cringe in pain.

“Want to try that again, Marshal?” Foldbrook’s sneering voice whispered in his ear. Jensen could feel the bulge of Foldbrook’s cock where he rubbed his jeans clad leg up against Jensen’s naked ass.

“Maybe you need a little more encouragement, baby. It ain’t a knot, but it might get you in the mood.”

Jensen grunted in pain as Foldbrook’s hand abandoned his throbbing testicles, and shoved a dry digit inside Jensen's tightly furled hole. With no lube or prep, it hurt like hell.

“Fucking tight, baby. Go ahead, Nathan, try now.” Foldbrook's hand wrapped around Jensen’s dick and started to jack him roughly. His coarse fingers were dry, like the finger inside him, the touch bringing more discomfort than pleasure.

Through sheer force of will Jensen, obediently opened his mouth and forced himself to accept Winters cock once more. The sooner he got them off, the sooner they’d leave. It was his working premise anyway.

With a guttural moan, Winters thrust back into Jensen’s mouth, setting up a brutal pace. Jensen had to struggle to breathe as the were pistoning in and out of his mouth. Winters' hands wrapped around Jensen’s skull and, as he got close to coming, his claws dug into Jensen’s scalp. Warm trickles of blood trailed down through his hair.

A second dry digit shoved inside him and Jensen choked causing his hips to buck forward involuntarily. Foldbrook gave his cock a warning squeeze, and Jensen forced himself to still. Foldbrook’s fingers rubbed too roughly over his prostate, and Jensen squirmed in discomfort.

Winters' rhythm was growing more and more erratic. With a final grunt, he pulled Jensen, so his nose was buried deep in Winters' pubes, his dick shoved as far down Jensen’s throat as he could get it. His broad hand held Jensen in place as he spilled deep down Jensen’s throat.

A long satisfied groan filled the shed and Foldbrook’s fingers finally stilled as he watched Winters come. Dots swam before Jensen's eyes. He wriggled in protest as his air started to run out, but Winters didn’t move. Finally, as things began to go black, Winters reluctantly withdrew leaving trails of saliva mixed with his seed on Jensen’s lips and face.

“Fuck man, that mouth. If it’s half as good as his ass, I am so claiming him.”

Foldbrook withdrew his fingers from Jensen’s hole and wiped them on the cheeks of his ass before he rose. “’k, my turn. That was so fucking hot, if I don’t get in there quick I’m scared I’m gonna blow my load. Watch him for me.”

Winters tucked in his spent dick and zipped up before shuffling around to take Foldbrook’s place behind Jensen.

Winters’ tipped Jensen’s head back and examined him. Exhausted and gulping in lungsful of air, Jensen glared weakly at him. He was sure it had all the strength of a wet kitten at the moment.

Winters gave a satisfied smile. “I don’t think he’s gonna cause any problems. But if he does, I’ll deal with him.”

Winters withdrew a serrated hunting knife from a sheath on his thigh and smashed it into a stump beside Jensen’s head. “I’ve skinned humans alive before, no problem. You so much as scrape Evan’s dick with your teeth by accident and I won’t hesitate to cut your balls off. We understanding each other, Marshal?”

Jensen’s gaze narrowed. Winters let go of Jensen’s head, and Jensen ran his tongue over his lips. Nodding, he spit a load of seed and saliva at the base of the stump Winters had dug the blade into.

Winters' hands gripped Jensen’s hips and he pulled him back close to his chest, grinding his denim-covered crotch into Jensen’s bare ass. “Come’ere, lover. Position you should get used to.”

Jensen tried to suppress the shudder than ran through him when Winters' fingers snaked up to pinch and twist at Jensen’s nipples, intent on inflicting nothing but pain.

A wet slap on his cheek brought his attention back to Foldbrook, now in front of him, red and leaking dick in hand. Foldbrook slapped his cock across Jensen’s cheek again before pressing it against his lips.

“Open wide, Marshal, daddy’s comin’ home.”

Fortunately, Foldbrook’s cock wasn’t as fat or long as Winters'. Jensen smiled a not so secret smile as he swallowed Foldbrook down. Foldbrook caught his look and his eyes turned mean. He set up a rough pace, making Jensen pay. When he was close to coming, he pulled out and shot his load all over Jensen’s face.

Winters rose and stepped out of the way as Foldbrook snarled, “Laugh at me, you bastard. I’ll teach you.” The were smashed Jensen in the face with one beefy fist. With his hands cuffed behind him, Jensen could do nothing to protect himself. He fell heavily on the shed floor as Foldbrook started to kick him. Jensen turtled up as well as he could, hands and feet bound, and his pants around his ankles. Winters started to yell, “Hey, hey, cool it, you’re going to fucking kill him!” Eventually, Winters was able to pull Foldbrook off him, but not before Jensen thought he felt a rib crack.

“Hey, the Alpha said we’re not to hurt him. He’ll skin you if Judgment has to be postponed.”

Winters shoved Foldbrook out of the shed and turned back to Jensen.

“Man, you really know how to piss a guy off. You got a death wish or something?” Winters lifted Jensen up and held him against his chest. Jensen hung there weakly, breath wheezing in and out as Winters worked, one handed, to pull Jensen’s jeans back up. Once he had pulled them up over Jensen’s ass, Winters let Jensen slip to the shed floor. Kneeling down, Winters’ tucked Jensen’s cock back in his pants and zipped him up.

He grabbed Jensen by the face and looked him over critically. Seeming satisfied by what he saw, Winters’ grabbed up the sack cloth hood. With a malicious smile he pulled it down over Jensen’s head and tied it in place again, patting him on the cheek through the rough cloth. “See you soon, pretty.”

Jensen bit back a moan of pain as he listened to Winters leave and lock the shed door behind him. Hurt and exhausted, Jensen’s head to drop to the floor again. He was so screwed.

Jensen spent the rest of the day sleeping off and on. . Exhausted by the night's activities, and now the rape and beating, he was so tired. He was pretty sure his leg was infected and his ribs hurt like a bitch, thanks to Foldbrook’s little tantrum. In the bigger scheme of things, it didn’t seem like any of that mattered much. According to Pellegrino, it sounded like all they wanted was for him to last until this ‘Judgment’, then he’d be dead, or worse.

Fever heating his skin, Jensen moaned and tossed as he drifted in and out of consciousness.

_The tree was too hot to stay in any longer. Logically Jensen knew that, but looking down at the flames licking up the side of the old oak, he couldn’t seem to make himself move. Only the thought of Cam’s disappointment eventually spurred Jensen to action._

_“Come on, don’t give up, you can do it, big guy.” Cam’s warm smile comforted him and then his breath hitched in his chest when he realized Cam was no longer there anymore to be proud or happy for him. A new crop of tears poured over his cheeks, drying quickly in the heat of the blaze. Blinking through them, Jensen scanned the fire and tried to map out an escape route. The flames were spreading from the mounds of wood the weres had stacked at the base of the tree outward along the grass and climbing up the trunk. The only way to avoid the worst of the flames would be to shimmy out on one of the thicker limbs, as far as he could go, past the worst of the fire and make a jump for safer ground._

_Whimpering, Jensen eased down onto the lowest branch he dared._

_The heat hurt his feet where they stuck out from the shredded ruin of his batman pajamas, and his face and hands burned like he’d been in the sun too long. He scrubbed a hand across his damp eyes and started to crawl.._

_It was difficult to breathe this close to the fire and Jensen found it hard to keep his eyes open as the waves of heat fanned over him. The tree limb was starting to narrow and dip, but Jensen still wasn’t clear of the flames. Tears threatened to break out all over again when he realized he’d have to jump for it._

_No other choice, he reached up to grab the next limb up and managed to climb to his feet. If he got high enough, with enough momentum, maybe when he jumped he could clear the burning brush line beneath the tree. The limb shifted and swayed beneath him, making his tummy do odd flips. Squeezing his eyes closed, he took a last deep breath, readying himself for the jump. As he leapt forward, there was a cracking sound, like a gun going off, and the limb he had been standing on fell into the flames below._

_Mid leap, Jensen realized he was not going to make it. Eyes wide with fear, he tried to brace himself as he dropped a few feet short of safety into the flames._

_Pain!_

_He screamed as his fingers splayed out as he landed on the burning grass and his feet came in contact with the flames. Crying out, he forced himself to scramble forward, on his hands and knees until he was finally clear of the fire. His limbs stung like a million bees had bit them and his pajamas had started to smolder and burn around his calves._

_Finally safe, he somehow managed to remember dad’s warning to drop and roll on the ground if he ever was on fire. Whimpering, he thrashed around, using his burnt hands to slap at the smoldering material. Dimly he realized the cloth would only keep burning and, wriggling and crying, he worked his way out of the pajama bottoms and kicked them away, leaving him clad only in his briefs and pajama top. His feet and hands were bloody, and black and blue burnt patches dotted his legs where the material had stuck._

_Jensen struggled to sit up without using his hands and ended up curled over his knees, rocking, his arms crossed over his knees, burnt hands out away from his chest._

_Wolf howls echoed through the woods and Jensen knew it was only a matter of time before they returned to check whether he was dead yet or not._

_He tried to stand, but he couldn't do it, crumpling to his knees instead. Whimpering, he crawled on knees and forearms deeper into the woods. Yips and barks were coming closer, and Jensen sobbed in defeat and closed his eyes, willing himself to invisibility._

_When he opened them, hazel brown eyes were watching him carefully. Jensen blinked and looked up into the face of a large grey wolf with a white blaze down its chest. With a quiet yelp, Jensen scrambled backward on his bum, kicking his feet in the dirt in a desperate attempt to get away. Gritting his teeth, he ignored the pain radiating from his burned limbs._

_More yips and barks were coming closer. The wolf kept pace with his awkward scuffle backwards, finally stepping forward so that its large body straddled him. The wolf hovered over him indecisively for a moment, then it pushed him to the ground, shoving him onto his belly. Jensen whimpered as its large teeth clamped down onto the neck of Jensen’s pajamas, catching the bunched fabric of the collar in its teeth._

_The wolf hauled Jensen up by the neck and Jensen mewled in fear, whimpering. Several more wolves leapt out of the darkness circling the grey wolf eager to join in tearing the little human apart. The grey wolf growled and shook Jensen as if he were a toy. Jensen whimpered, his burnt limbs scraping the earth as the wolf flung him this way and that. When the other wolves came closer, the grey wolf stepped back, dragging Jensen with him. A threatening growl came from behind the cloth in its mouth and the new wolves backed off respectfully._

_Jensen started to cry when the wolf adjusted its grip and began to drag him deeper into the woods. One multicolored brown wolf reached out; it’s teeth snapping close to Jensen’s leg. Instantly the grey wolf dropped its hold on Jensen and leapt forward with a savagery Jensen would never forget, to tear into the encroaching wolf. The multicolored wolf howled in pain and leapt away, blood dripping from a gash torn in its side._

_With a commanding growl, the grey wolf padded over to stand over Jensen, its four legs spread over Jensen’s limp body. Jensen felt a warm, wet sensation on his side and realized the wolf had cocked its leg and was pissing on him. Marking him. The gathered wolves yipped and, snarling at each other, ran off, leaving Jensen alone with his captor._

_Giving its leg a final shake, the wolf grabbed Jensen by the collar again and continued to drag him deeper into the woods. Rocks and sticks dug into his wounded flesh, and Jensen whimpered. He wriggled weakly but couldn’t break free of the wolf’s hold. Falling limp, he closed his eyes and tried to will himself unconscious. He didn’t want to be awake when the wolf ate him._

_Jensen must have passed out for a while. When he came to, he wasn’t moving anymore. He opened his eyes, there was a bit of a breeze on Jensen’s face, and he realized the wolf had dragged him through the patch of woods surrounding the house onto the gravel edge of the road that lead to the front of the house, far away from the rest of the pack._

_Jensen grunted weakly, he had no fight left in him and was pretty much out of it; the pain of his injuries had left him limp and helpless. He lay there, listless, his head lolling on the ground, staring at the wolf’s large paws as it loomed above him. Absently, he noticed something odd about the wolf’s right foot, about the toes. There seemed to be only three._

_The wail of a siren in the distance caught Jensen’s ear and, weakly, he struggled to lift his head. The wolf looked up as well and snarled as it looked down the road, flashing lights appearing in the distance. It stood there a moment longer; then with a warning howl to the rest of the pack, bounded back into the woods, leaving Jensen at the side of the road._

_Alive._

It was Earl’s voice that woke him. “Wakey, wakey, Marshal. Bet you’re pretty hungry by now?” Jensen jerked to full wakefulness and listened as the crunch of Earl's boots on the chip covered floor came closer. The hood was loosened and tossed away in the corner, and Jensen blinked his sleep encrusted eyes.

Behind Earl, the door to the shed was still open and Winters and Foldbrook hovered outside acting as guards. From the look of things it was sometime near sunset. Earl closed the door and gestured toward a stump where a plate of delicious smelling food and a canteen sat. Jensen’s mouth began to water and he realized that in spite of all that had happened he could still be hungry.

Earl crouched down in front of him and sniffed the air. Shock registered in his expression, then all trace of good humor bled away. An enraged snarl came over Earl’s features, and for a moment Jensen though Earl might hit him. Instead his head whipped around, and he glared over his shoulder at the shed door. He growled, his lip curled in disgust. But when he looked back at Jensen, his manner had settled into something surprisingly gentle.

“I brought you some food. First things first though, I imagine you gotta piss like a racehorse?”

He nodded his head, suddenly wary.

“Okay, I can’t take you to the facilities, but I can help you not piss your pants. You gonna be good?”

Cautiously, Jensen nodded. Earl took out a blade out of its sheath strapped to his thigh. It was a big blade.

Jensen’s eyes narrowed, as Earl advanced on him. Maybe if he butted him with his feet. But Earl only bent down and ran the blade between the bonds at his ankles, cutting them free. Pins and needles shot through his legs as Jensen wriggled his feet. Pocketing his knife Earl crouched over him and wrapped one big arm around Jensen’s waist, easily lifting him to his feet.

When he put some weight on his wounded leg the pain nearly blinded him and Jensen’s knees gave out. He was forced to lean against Earl’s broad chest in order to stay upright. Finally after a few false starts he was able to put weight on the bad leg.

“The infection is spreading.” Earl said matter of factly, and Jensen’s head shot up as he stared at him incredulous. Earl couldn’t see through his jeans.

“Were nose. We can sniff out a lot of things. So, over here in the corner.” Earl tugged Jensen, supporting most of his weight as he maneuvered him to the far end of the shed. His free hand snaked down and was unbuttoning Jensen’s jeans before Jensen even knew what was up.

“No, no.” Jensen mumbled, biting back a moan of fear as he tried to squirm out of the weres hold, but it was immovable.

“Hold on, sunshine. I’m not after a repeat of whatever those dogs put you through. I’m only gonna help you take a piss. I don’t have the keys to those cuffs.” Earl said as he tugged down the zipper of Jensen’s jeans.

Jensen’s breath was coming fast, but at the look on Earl’s face he tried to calm himself. Earl reached into Jensen’s boxers and fished his limp dick out, holding it firm enough to help aim, and that was it.

“Just pretend like I’m not here.” Earl’s breath huffed in his ear and Jensen could hear the humorless smile in it. He almost chuckled himself, but it was damn awkward. He’d never had another man hold his dick as he pissed. It took him a few tries, but as Earl's hand stayed firm, but impersonal, Jensen slowly relaxed and was able to let go.

He was sure his cheeks were burning by the time Earl shook his dick and tucked it back into his pants. “First for me, too,” Earl said companionably as he helped Jensen limp back to the other side of the shed.

“Now, we got to get some food in you. You’ll need your strength for this.” Earl said obliquely.

Jensen’s laugh was harsh. “How much strength do I need for you to kill me?”

Earl raised an eyebrow but said nothing, and Jensen’s mind started to whirl. If they weren’t going to kill him, what were they going to do with him?

Earl shoveled surprisingly tasty meatloaf and vegetables into him with remarkable gentleness. When Jensen had a chance between mouthfuls he took quick peeks at the man. Something about him looked familiar, but Jensen couldn’t quite place it.

“Water?” Earl asked between mouthfuls and Jensen nodded.

‘S’good.” He opened his mouth like a baby bird, and Earl put the water bottle to his lips and tipped it up.

“I’ll tell the Missus,” Earl smiled tightly as he offered another forkful of meatloaf to Jensen. Between bites Jensen raised a brow and asked, “So, you’re mated?”

“Five years now, with a cub on the way.” Earl smiled softly in return. “You got anyone significant?”

Jensen shook his head, but his mind supplied him with the image of a lanky, beautiful man with hazel green eyes, sprawled across the bed, his hand curled on Jensen’s chest and Jensen running his fingers through silky soft hair.

No one that could matter now.

Comments always appreciated ^^


	7. The Run

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](http://meus-venator.livejournal.com/67191.html)

 

There was a sharp rap on the door. “It’s time,” Winters said as he shoved open the shed door and ducked his head as he entered, followed closely by Foldbrook.

Jensen looked up, careful to keep his expression blank. He had been able to finish his meal, at least. Even more surprising was the fact that he'd been able to keep it down.

Earl helped him to his feet and was quickly pushed aside as the men grabbed him by his arms. Winters slammed Jensen against the wall, holding him by the throat while Foldbrook rolled up a piece of cloth and advanced toward him. Jensen cursed and kicked and bit at Foldbrook’s fingers, but Winters forced Jensen’s jaw open with ease. Foldbrook stuffed his dirty wad of cotton into Jensen’s mouth, then forced a leather strap through his lips and fastened it at the back of his head.

With Jensen gagged, they proceeded to half carry, half drag him, stumbling, out of the shed and past a series of buildings. It was sunset and the light was fading, but Jensen could make out several groupings of nicely appointed homes, as well as barns and outbuildings. It was clear the Iron Ridge pack was sizeable, with long tracts of land under cultivation, and several fields filled with placidly grazing sheep, before the trees began again. Jensen huffed behind his gag. It was like a bad joke, all these wolves hiding behind their huge flocks of sheep.

The men ushered him quickly out to the edge of the forest. They followed a well-worn trail through the darkening woods until they came to a small clearing where a modest crowd gathered. On one side of the clearing was a parking lot, and Jensen could make out a dirt road leading off into the woods. Several trucks and pickups were already parked there with more people arriving by the second. Torches illuminated the meeting area, casting eerie shadows on the ring of trees surrounding them.

The guards shouldered their way through the burgeoning crowd and dragged Jensen up onto a small stage where Pellegrino and a woman Jensen didn’t recognize stood talking.

The weres pushed him to his knees. With a muffled growl, Jensen attempted to rise, but the big hands clamped down on either shoulder and held him in place. Jensen tugged uselessly at his cuffed hands and gave Pellegrino a cold stare before looking out at the gathering crowd. He realized he’d never seen so many weres outside the rez in his life. Exactly how big a pack did Munter’s Gorge have?

Pellegrino turned to a woman standing beside him and murmured, “Is everyone here?”

“Pretty nearly, Alpha. I think you are good to proceed.” The woman bowed her head respectfully to the deputy sheriff, and Jensen’s eyes narrowed. He wondered what Pellegrino had in store for him.

“Welcome brothers and sisters of the Iron Ridge pack. Thank you for joining me. We have important business to attend to. Tonight we will pass judgment on one Jensen Ackles, Federal Marshal, Hunter Division.” The scorn was heavy on the word "hunter" as Pellegrino tipped his head toward Jensen, a mocking smile on his face.

Behind his gag Jensen fumed.

“As you all know, the marshal has caused us a lot of trouble and worry the last few weeks that he’s been here. He has killed not only Ty, a beloved member of the pack, and driven Ty’s family into hiding, but now has killed a second were. Hal was struck down today by the marshal while trying to do his duty and keep the man under control. Clearly he is dangerous to us and our community.”

Jensen rolled his eyes at Pellegrino’s deliberate exaggeration of events. Winters cuffed him in the side of the head in punishment, knocking him sideways. He reeled from the blow, and Winters and Foldbrook hauled him upright and pushed him back in place. Head ringing, Jensen tried to keep up with what Pellegrino was saying.

“In recent times, the marshal’s death would be swift and final, but instead I have read our books and looked into our traditions, seeking guidance from the old ways. And I think I have come up with a better way to deal with our marshal problem; one that will bind his fate and ours together forever, and keep our pack safe from the humans.” Murmurs of approval rippled through the gathered weres.

Pellegrino paced back and forth along the front of the stage, his voice taking on the cadence of an old-time preacher, or a faith healer, as he went about winding up the crowd of gathered weres. “Tonight I am here to pass judgment on Jensen Ackles for his crimes against our pack. Pack justice is always swift and fair, and tonight’s judgment will be no different for this human than it would be for one of our own. Tonight Jensen Ackles will pay for the taking of Ty Olsson and Hal Grissom’s lives with his own.”

The crowd cheered, and Jensen closed his eyes, bowing his head. It was all pretty much what he’d expected, but his heart was still jackhammering in his chest upon hearing the words spoken out loud. Now, it was simply a matter of how they’d kill him. He hoped he could die with dignity. It wasn’t much to ask. He huffed out a ragged breath and raised his chin. If he was going to go down, he’d go down staring them in the face.

“My judgment in this case is that Jensen Ackles be turned and mated and made part of what he sought to destroy. That, as in the old ways, he will take the place of the weres he so casually cut down. Tonight we will have a mating run.”

The crowd gasped, Jensen with them. He was pitifully glad of the gag to hide his shock as the crowd burst out in cheers, hoots and catcalls. When the noise finally died down to murmurs of approval, Pellegrino walked over to where Jensen knelt and nodded at the two bodyguards. They hefted Jensen to his feet. Still in shock at the judgment, Jensen’s knees buckled, but Winters and Foldbrook caught him and kept him upright.

Pellegrino reached out and grasped Jensen’s chin, turning his head this way and that for the crowd to see.

“And who wouldn’t want to turn our pretty marshal here, have him squirming on your knot? Turn him, bind him to you forever, make him pack as your very own omega. Who here is of mating age? Who here is willing to make the run?” Pellegrino’s eyes glowed fiery blue as he stared out into the crowd, his voice reverberating in the darkness with the strength of a dominant ‘alpha’ behind it.

As if compelled, men started to thread their way toward the stage. “Come, and I will anoint you as in the old days.” Pellegrino’s voice sent a chill of dread down Jensen’s spine.

Held fast by Winters and Foldbrook, Jensen tried to see exactly what was going on. He could make out a line up starting to form on the left of the stage. Large burly alphas answered the call to arms, laughing and slapping each other on the back as they removed their shirts, exposing broad expanses of well muscled flesh. Jensen could see the competitive gleam in their eyes as they watched each other and waited. Pellegrino wasn’t watching them though, he was looking at Jensen, his eyelids at half mast, hooding his gaze.

The woman who had been talking with him earlier returned to his side and passed him something. A thin smile stole slowly across Pellegrino’s face as he stepped toward Jensen, he raised his hand and let his index finger shift, and a long knife sharp claw slowly extended from the finger. He moved his hand closer for Jensen to see as the woman held out a small earthenware bowl toward his chest.

Jensen forced himself not to flinch in dread when Pellegrino ordered, “Hold him.”

Winters' and Foldbrook’s grip tightened and in a motion so fast Jensen could barely see it, the deputy sheriff brought his clawed finger down across Jensen’s chest; cutting a long, shallow, diagonal line across his heart with surgical precision. The woman stepped closer and pressed the bowl to his wound, catching his blood as he started to bleed. When enough blood had trickled into the bowl, the woman ran a delicate finger along the line of the cut. Her eyes glowed gold in the darkness as she licked the blood covered digit. Smacking her lips loudly, she rose, and looked directly into Jensen’s eyes.

“So sweet, Green Eyes. Too bad I’m mated, or I’d make a run for you myself.” She licked the last of Jensen’s blood from her lips with a slow sweep of her tongue.

Next she slathered on a line of antiseptic cream along the cut and tossed a roll of duct tape to one of Jensen’s guards, “Cover that up, we don’t want to give the boys too easy a trail to follow. Good luck marshal, you’re gonna need it.” Laughing she patted his chest in farewell and smiled, her teeth red with his blood.

Jensen’s lip curled and he lunged forward in an attempt to knock the blood filled bowl from her hands. Laughing, his guards caught him before he reached her, easily manhandling him back into place between them.

Winters sneered as he taped up Jensen’s chest. “Hiding that delicious scent won’t protect you from us, Pretty. We’re still gonna find you.”

Jensen shuddered. He knew his were biology. Werewolves came in three varieties – alpha males, the most aggressive and dominant sex. Their main physical difference was a knot, like a wolf or a dog had around the base of their penis. Then there were the betas who made up the female population. The third sex, making up only a small percentage of the were population were omegas, male werewolves who had working male genitalia, but after mating developed a new set of organs by which they could also conceive children.

An exchange of blood between a were and a human could turn a human. The Lycus virus was fast acting and left on their own, a scratched or bitten male would turn into an omega and a female into a beta.

During a mating run alphas could claim either a single female beta or male omega as their mate, but when a human was included, once they were claimed by an alpha they had to be turned, to make a suitable mate. Claiming involved the alpha fucking and knotting the male. Once knotted, the alpha would turn him with the mating bite, solidifying the bond and sending the omega into his first heat, and triggering the growth of the omega’s new baby-making parts.

Unlike betas who could change mates if they desired, this act of mating genetically bound the omega to his alpha mate for life. From that point on the omega would go into heat regularly and would not survive those heats for long without his alpha’s knot. Jensen remembered reading something about secretions in the alpha’s seed triggering the omega’s heat to end, without that genetic trigger an omega’s body would stay in heat and eventually burn itself out.

The idea of being changed into a creature suddenly capable of going into heat and breeding was startling enough, but the real reason humans had feared and despised the weres during the great war was that turning made the omega submissive to his alpha. Something in an omega’s biology made it almost impossible for an omega to disobey his mate’s ‘alpha voice.’

It was this idea of being turned into a bitch, and used for breeding stock for the rest of their life with no way to protest or get away that struck fear and horror into the hearts of many a staunch warrior. It was the closest thing to slavery to exist in North America in centuries. It was almost incomprehensible and had been a major factor contributing to the start of the Great War.

For Jensen, faced immediately with that fate, it was the overwhelming horror and dread of being turned and used by the race that had killed his family. Rendered helpless, made to service his enemies as their bitch, to carry, produce, and nurture their offspring for the rest of his fertile life … Jensen’s mind blanked out at the possibility.

He couldn’t. He wouldn’t.

Blinking, Jensen ruthlessly shoved those thoughts away and glanced around him.

One by one, the contenders were being led up onto the stage to take a knee before their alpha. Pellegrino dipped his fingers into the bowl of Jensen’s blood and marked each of their faces with a strange moon shaped sigil. The blood served the dual purpose of providing a sample of Jensen’s scent, and sending each were into a mating frenzy.

On the other side of the gathered crowd, a red pickup roared into the parking lot, and a man jumped out and ran toward the stage.

“Alpha you can’t do this. It’s wrong.” Morgan pushed through the crowd and leapt up onto the stage. “You have to stop this. What does this say about our treatment of humans? It’s actions like these that convince the humans that we’re animals.”

Morgan strode over to the Alpha as he marked yet another were.

“Alpha, I’m begging you. Don’t do this.”

Pellegrino paused and turned to face Morgan, and Jensen’s blood ran cold. It wasn’t the year or two Pellegrino had on Morgan, or the few extra inches, it was the eerie cold light in his eyes, and presence that radiated dominance. Morgan swiftly bowed his head and spread his hands wide in a consciously submissive gesture.

“Are you challenging me?” Pellegrino asked softly, his fingers shifting to clawed hands. “Do you dare challenge me?” Pellegrino said in a stronger voice.

A hush fell over clearing as Pellegrino’s power seemed to radiate through the gathered weres, and every head turned toward the stage. Jensen’s guards' hands tightened on his shoulders and pushed him to his knees as the whole pack knelt as one before their Alpha.

Morgan hesitated, for only a blink, then, swearing softly, dropped to one knee before his king. “Alpha, forgive me.” He said, baring his neck to Pellegrino in submission.

Pellegrino leaned down and ran one clawed finger along the nape of Morgan’s exposed neck. He left a thin line of blood in its wake. “You are my second, Morgan. See that you remember that.”

“Yes, Alpha.” Morgan’s voice was gruff and he kept his head bowed, his hands folded over his knee.

“Now rise, and help me mark our valiant suitors.”

Morgan and the rest of the pack let out a collective breath and got to their feet.

Jensen watched in dread fascination as Pellegrino continued to mark were after were. There were twelve of them standing on the stage by now, and Jensen’s gut twisted. There was no way, with his leg the way it was, that he could ever hope to evade a dozen healthy alphas in a mating frenzy. The marked weres stood in a line along the stage and Jensen could see evidence of their growing interest in him. They watched him, eyes glowing in the darkness, like he was some succulent morsel they would soon be savoring. Gesturing to other guards standing along the sides of the stage, Winters and Foldbrook were some of the last to join the ranks swelling the number to fourteen. Jensen closed his eyes in defeat.

Raised voices and sounds of a scuffle heralded the arrival of another contestant. Wearily Jensen forced his eyes open again.

“No, you can’t! I mean it. I forbid it!” Earl’s voice seemed overly loud among the hushed gathering of weres. He ran through the crowd chasing someone.

“There’s no rule to stop me.” Jared’s voice was strong and even.

Jensen’s head swung round as far as his captors' grip would let him. Wide-eyed, he witnessed Earl grab Jared by the arm and pull him back as he tried to take his place on the stage.

“Let go of me. This is something I have to do.” Jared’s voice was a rough growl, firmer than Jensen had ever heard it, more decisive.

“Please, Jared, think about what you are doing.” Earl entreated. “Why now? After all this time? And why this miserable excuse for a human? Please, wait for another run, for someone worthy of you.”

Jared’s voice was low, but his answer still carried in the sudden quiet of the clearing.

“Because I want him.”

Jensen stared. He could see it now, the familial resemblance. Earl was Jared’s brother, or uncle, or some blood relative. And Jared – Jared was a were! He’d been one all along.

Jensen’s world spun sickeningly, the meatloaf and greens threatening to make a reappearance. He hadn’t suspected a thing. Jared had had him fooled completely.

He remembered Jared avoiding a handshake with his silvered gloves, Jared hanging back while Jensen stripped the gloves off to go to dinner. All subtle, but all clues Jensen would have picked up on any normal day if he hadn’t been thinking with his dick.

Now Jared was throwing his hat in the ring to turn Jensen. And Jensen was left kneeling, close to redecorating their pretty stage. A sudden thought occurred and Jensen’s head reared up, pivoting as far as he could, searching for Christian among the crowd. His instincts had been so off, so far, who else in this town might be a were?

Pellegrino stepped forward and put his hand on Jared’s shoulder, a look of rage on his face. “What are you thinking, Jared? This isn’t the place for you.”

Jared’s chin lifted stubbornly. “It’s my right, as much as any pack member, to go on a mating run. You can’t stop me. Can he Morgan? Not if we’re doing this by the old book. Or are you rewriting that too, Mark?”

Jensen could sense the static in the air, like a storm rolling in, the physical manifestation of the alpha’s fury. Jensen was sure the hairs on the back of his neck were standing upright.

Morgan stepped over and glanced warily between Jared and Pellegrino, “He’s right, Mark. He’s fully within his rights, but he’s only one of fifteen potential suitors. He might never even find him.”

“This is a poor time to come to your senses, Jared. If you’re finally open to participating in the mating run, you could have a mate truly worthy of you.”

“I want this one, and unless you deem me unfit, it is my right.” Jared stared at Pellegrino, his jaw at a stubborn angle. “Do you?”

“Damn you, Jared. You know this is not what I intended for you.” Pellegrino dipped his fingers angrily into the bowl and marked Jared’s face with Jensen’s cooling blood.

Jared stripped off his shirt and took his place on the stage with the other participants. Jensen knew he was missing something here, something potentially huge. He just didn’t know what. Shaking his head, obviously upset, Earl left the stage. He went to stand by a pretty blonde beta who wrapped her arm around his waist and leaned in, speaking quietly with him.

After marking Jared, Pellegrino left to speak to each of the participants. Morgan stayed, crouching down beside Jensen. “Has anyone explained any of this to you, Marshal? Do you even know what’s going to happen?”

Jensen shook his head. Without allowing themselves to be turned, there was only so much the Hunter Division could learn about how things operated. They had never been able to get operatives this deep into the pack, or at least not ones that ever came back.

“You’ll be given a twenty minute head start. You have twelve hours. If you evade all the potential suitors for the full twelve hours, just past sunrise, you’re a free man tomorrow. But if one of your potential mates finds and claims you, you’ll be bitten and turned and become their mate. You’ll become a were, Marshal, and you won’t be able to go home again. You’ll live out your days here or on the rez.”

“If you don’t kill me, I’ll tell them. I’ll tell them everything.”

Morgan scrubbed his hand across face, his expression growing a little sadder. “You say that now, but once you’re pack, once you feel the pull of the moon and the draw of your first heat as it comes over you, you’ll sing a different tune. Who is going to believe a were half out of their mind with heat? You’ll be completely discredited. This ain’t our first rodeo either, Marshal. It’s sad that it’s come to this.”

“And if I make it through the night, you’d have me believe you’ll just let me go?”

Morgan smiled dolefully, “With fifteen hunters on your tail, you’ll be lucky to last the hour, but don’t worry, we’re weres of our word. If you make it through, we’ll let you go and let the chips fall where they may. You have the Alpha’s word.”

“Yeah, like I believe that.” Jensen snorted in disbelief.

Morgan turned toward the guards. “Release his cuffs, he’ll be leaving soon.”

Jensen closed his eyes and swayed as the bodyguards released him and blood rushed to his numb hands and arms. He staggered to his feet. Everything hurt. Morgan was right, without some insanely random piece of luck, he wasn’t going to last an hour. And the idea of being turned… He swiftly stamped down thoughts of being someone’s bitch, he had to focus on winning or he’d lose before he started. There’d be plenty of time for regrets later.

Pellegrino stepped to the middle of the stage and the potential mates formed a line on either side, with an opening between the lines at the back of the stage leading to the forest.

Jensen’s guards shoved him roughly beside Pellegrino.

The deputy sheriff looked down his nose at him, tapping his fingers together as a sly look of satisfaction ran across his face. “Jensen Ackles, your judgment is about to begin. We have fifteen willing candidates ready to bring you the justice you so richly deserve. Now run!”

Without a backward glance, Jensen ran through the gauntlet of weres, as fast as his wounded leg would take him; into the woods and the darkness beyond. He had a twenty-minute lead, and he had to make it count.

He kept up a light, shambling jog for as long as he could. It wouldn’t be much against wolves running at full tilt, but he couldn’t simply roll over and stick his ass in the air and wait for it all to be over. He would fight as long as he was able.

He had an inkling where he was now, though. He remembered Jared had said his family lived about forty miles north of Munter’s Gorge at Iron Ridge Pass. This must be it. Pack lands.

Jensen squinted at the night sky and tried to see through the cloud cover and find true north. In this relatively unpopulated part of Montana, it would be better to try and make for town, steal a car and get to Townsend or Helena, than wander through the woods hoping he might stumble onto civilization. Finally catching a glimpse of the stars, he turned and oriented himself to head north.

Limping onward, he briefly debated going up a tree and holding out for the twelve hours, but that hadn’t worked out so well for him the last time. His best bet was water. There were streams all over these mountains, if he could find and follow one. The big question was if. And he wasn’t off to a great start, stumbling around in the darkness, swearing and cursing as tree limbs caught and tore at his bare arms and chest, he knew he was leaving a scent trail even the most stuffed up weres in the world could follow.

His foot sank down unexpectedly and he almost did a face-plant when as he stepped into a large puddle. His boot soaked through to the sock, and Jensen swore as he shook his leg. At least he hadn’t broken anything.

A light suddenly went on and he grinned like a loon and crouched down and started to mix some of the dirt around the edges of the puddle in with the water. Scooping up a big handful of the wet slurry he’d made, he plastered the sopping mix over his face and shoulders. He covered as much of himself as he could reach, until he ran out of water. It was cold and clammy on his bare chest, but if he could smother his scent for even a few extra minutes it might make all the difference.

Mud beginning to dry and flake, Jensen limped forward.

Howls echoed through the woods. His twenty minutes were up.

He quickened his pace as much as his leg would allow. He was starting to sweat, infection from the wound feeding a fever. He paused for a moment and listened. He’d been hearing it for a while, but didn’t want to get his hopes up. Listening now, he was sure of it. He could hear water in the distance, maybe a small river? If he could only get there in time, before the pack caught up with him, he could maybe make it down far enough to lose them. Then he could try to find somewhere to hole up and get warm, ride out the fever somehow.

He came out of the trees at the top of a rise. A swiftly flowing river lay below him, the sound muffled by the high walls of the hills on either side. He started down the embankment, walking and slipping as the loose, gravely soil gave way beneath his boots. He was almost near the bottom when his bad leg slipped on something and he was sent tumbling headlong down the rest of the hill.

He ended up sprawled half in, half out of the water, his face and hands scraped by the fall. The shock of the water’s temperature had him struggling to pull his legs from the water. In all his plotting about following the water he had forgotten one important factor – how cold the rivers got this time of year.

He briefly debated wading to the other side and staying on dry land. At this rate, if he stayed in the river for too long, he could die of hypothermia if he wasn't careful. The sad truth of it was, though, with his bad leg, he didn’t stand much of a chance on land, either. The river was his best hope of escape. Jensen shivered, more from the idea of being trapped in the pack as someone’s bitch than the cold. He'd rather die in the freezing waters than submit to an alpha’s will. He could only imagine the sneer of triumph on Winters' or Foldbrook’s face if they found him first.

With no other choice, he waded out into the middle of the rushing flow. Yips and howls from the pack were scarily close.

Waist deep, he took one last big breath before letting himself be carried away by the surging waters.

It worked well at first. He was able to paddle and direct himself pretty easily along the current. He had to figure, though, that nothing would ever go that easily for long. The current sped up as the river narrowed, and came to the conjuncture of a larger flow. The waves became choppy with froth as he headed toward a stretch of rapids, studded with large boulders and rocky outcroppings, and Jensen was quickly in a battle for his life to avoid the treacherous rocks. He used his hands like a rudder and tried to keep his feet in front of his body, some small buffer as he was shunted, along with millions of gallons of water, though a suddenly treacherous chute.

Control over his direction soon became a joke as he bobbed up and down amid the rapids. He came perilously close to smashing into a large boulder in the middle of the river, and then ducked under water in time to avoid a low hanging fallen tree in his path. There was an ominous roaring sound that Jensen didn’t think was only coming from between his ears. He tried to get a clear view of the path ahead while battling to keep his head above water.

A waterfall!

He was nearing a falls. Jensen could remember only one falls of note in the area. That meant he had somehow ended up on the Iron Ridge River and that he was now irrevocably headed toward the Gorge.

Munter’s Gorge.

He tried to remember what he knew about the landmark falls. He seemed to recall something about a seventy, or a hundred and some-odd foot drop. He wondered if that was survivable. Hitting the water from that height would be like hitting pavement.

With renewed desperation, Jensen attempted to change course and swim to shore. But the current kept pushing him back towards center. Numb with cold and unable to grab hold of any of the rocks long enough to slow his progress, Jensen was shoved under repeatedly by the swiftly moving current. His bad leg smashed up against rock, and he screamed, his mouth flooding with water.

He had never been particularly religious, but as the water darkened around him and his vision narrowed, his last hope was that he might get to see his family again if there was such a thing as an afterlife.

It wasn’t the most glorious way to go out, but at least it was better than being turned by the rape squad on his tail. Completely exhausted and out of air, Jensen stopped fighting and let go.

Like a ball shot out of a canon Jensen was suddenly airborne. His body hurtled clear of the water and over the falls. Plunging toward the rocks below, he closed his eyes again and prayed that the end would come quickly.

So this is the halfway point in the story. Maybe it's time to stop and stretch, maybe water the grass, and of course comment to your friendly neighbourhood author ^^

Fic writers work for comments and I'd like to at least make minimum wage : )


	8. Mine

[  
](http://meus-venator.livejournal.com/67191.html)

 

Numb and floating, Jensen returned to consciousness slowly. The sensation of something pushing against him finally tweaked his curiosity enough to open his eyes.

It was like flipping a switch. Sound returned to his world in a rush, freezing cold water poured around him on all sides. Jensen blinked rapidly, as the onslaught of sensations swamped him. He let out a shuddering breath, not quite believing he was still alive. His head throbbed, but he seemed otherwise intact.

When he attempted to move, though, he was held in place by something behind him, and he flailed in panic. Forcing himself to be calm, he tried to move again. Glancing over his shoulder, he realized he had somehow got caught up in the limbs of a deadfall half submerged in the river, with his head, fortunately, above water. It had probably saved him from drowning or smashing unconscious against the rocks.

His teeth started to chatter. If he didn’t get out of the water soon, he wasn’t going to survive. With shaking hands, he managed to extract himself from the gnarled limbs and pulled himself down the length of the fallen tree toward the shore. By the time he crawled onto the river bank, he could no longer feel his hands or feet.

Shivering, he took in his surroundings. One piece of luck, he had landed on the far side of the river, another step away from the pack. But the pack wasn’t his only concern, he needed shelter, somewhere to hide to get warm, or he was going to die. He shoved himself up to his feet and fell crashing, immediately to his knees. His leg had given out completely.

Biting his lip, Jensen forced himself to crawl toward the tree line. Out of the freezing water, he noticed something warm leaking down his side. With trembling hands he touched his flank and it came away warm and wet. An angry furrow ran along his rib cage, where somewhere during his fall, a tree limb or sharp rock had gouged his already battered ribs.

Blood!

He groaned, his head hanging between his shoulders. The duct tape across his chest was also gone, probably torn off by rocks and branches in his furious rush down the river and blood beading along that wound as well along with new scrapes and gouges all over his body.

The scent of fresh blood would carry like wildfire thought the woods. Jensen slumped to the ground as he debated what to do. If he returned to the water, there was no guarantee he could survive the cold, but it would mask his scent. If he stayed on land his blood was a beacon for the pack to follow. There was no guarantee he’d survive, either way.

He swallowed, gazing out at the surging river. He couldn’t imagine having the luck or strength to pull himself from its hold a second time. He glanced up into the trees. Maybe he could crawl somewhere, find a den, and hide. Pitiful as it sounded, he wasn’t ready to die yet.

A low growl rumbled behind him, making the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. He pushed himself up to sitting and leaning heavily on one elbow, turned around slowly to come face to face with a large sandy blond wolf as it stepped out of the trees. Jensen had faced many an alpha as part of his job, but something about this blond wolf sent a sickening jolt of dread down his spine. Purposefully, Jensen raised his chin. He knew the were could smell the fear on him but at least visibly, he would show nothing.

The wolf padded closer, slavering jaws dripping as it continued to snarl. Its jaw trembled with fury. Jensen was pretty sure this wasn’t how a wolf went about claiming a mate. This wolf looked like it was going to tear his throat out. Unable to run, unwilling to beg Jensen simply held his ground and waited for his imminent end.

The wolf shape blurred, its body contorting and stretching until a broad, well muscled man of about six foot two stood in its place only a pace or so away from him.

Pellegrino.

Jensen startled and tried to crawl backwards, grimacing as his bad leg dragged across the stony beach. The pack Alpha advanced on him and with pitiful ease, bent and grabbed him by the throat.

Jensen sputtered and kicked weakly as he was pulled upright. His feet left the ground and, as if he weighed nothing, Pellegrino held him by the throat, dangling in midair.

In an eerily calm voice, Pellegrino started to speak, his blue eyes glowing with alpha power in the darkness. “You humans think you’re so special. Think you can simply come here to our town, and take what you want. Sully what isn’t yours. Well you can’t, and it ends tonight. Tonight you pay for what you have done, Marshal. I won’t have you contaminating our bloodlines. Mating is too good for something like you. Tonight, you die.”

Jensen pulled futilely at Pellegrino’s hands where they were tightening around his throat. Spots danced before his eyes, and he wanted to laugh. He’d survived the falls only to meet his end here, and he couldn’t make a sound. Sharp talons pierced his neck as Pellegrino’s fingernails shifted to claws. In a parody of a lover’s caress, the alpha ran a sharply clawed hand down the side of Jensen’s face, humming absently, his claw digging in, gouging a bloody furrow through Jensen’s skin.

Jensen gasped, his eyes squeezed tight against the burn and blood started to seep down his face. Pellegrino’s claw returned up to the corner of Jensen’s mouth, tugging at the sensitive flesh; then, began to cut across his face.

As the coppery scent of his own blood filled Jensen’s nose, Pellegrino smiled.

The alpha continued to systematically slice at his face. Jensen tried to kick out, but his struggles were pitiful. Pellegrino only tipped his head back, that same eerily whimsical smile on his face as he observed the bloody ruin of Jensen’s face. “So pathetic. What could he possibly have seen in you?”

Another growl was Jensen’s only warning before a dark blur leapt over them and slammed into Pellegrino’s shoulder, sending them all crashing to the ground. Jensen’s head cracked against a rock and the world spun.

Pellegrino’s grasp on Jensen’s neck was gone, he dragged in ragged lungsful of air. By the time Jensen looked up, a dark shaggy figure of a wolf stood protectively over his prone body. Pellegrino was on his feet again, staring quizzically at the wolf looming over Jensen.

The newcomer growled possessively. Great, Jensen thought, two dogs with a bone and he was the bone. He was going to be torn apart.

Wiping more blood out of his eyes, Jensen rose to his elbows as the figure above him shifted to a tall, very large, naked man. Jensen blinked, still dazed from the fall. From the back he looked familiar, but Jensen couldn’t seem to put the pieces together.

Pellegrino was speaking, “This human doesn’t deserve to become pack. And certainly not mate with you, you’re so much better than this. You didn’t believe all that PC crap I was feeding the others back there, did you? He’s a threat, and I’m going to take care of it.” Pellegrino started to circle, and the man guarding Jensen turned with him, tracking the alpha’s movements, bringing his face into view in the moonlight….Jared.

“He’s mine, Mark. I won’t let you hurt him.”

“Yours.” Pellegrino snorted. “I never should have let you enter the race. You’re not free to claim anyone. You know in your heart of hearts who you belong to. How could you even let this… animal touch you, defile you? I can still smell the stink of him on your skin. He is no worthy mate.” Pellegrino’s lip curled in disgust as they continued to circle each other. Jared stayed between the Alpha and Jensen, clearly not deterred.

“You know we are meant to be together. I should have claimed you a long time ago, but instead I listened to Alpha Goodall and let you go to college, but it ends here. It ends now, with its death – and then with me finally establishing my rightful claim.” Pellegrino stabbed an angry finger through the air.

“Step back.” The air around them trembled, and Pellegrino’s eyes glowed brighter with the full force of his alpha voice.

Jensen glanced up at Jared and saw him flinch as the order reverberated through him. Jared swallowed hard, his hands clenched so tight blood started to leak from his palms, but he held his ground against the hardwired desire to submit, to obey the Alpha, bred in every were's bones. Jensen’s eyebrows rose in surprise. He knew from his own encounters with weres that an alpha’s voice was nearly impossible to refuse, especially the pack’s alpha.

Pellegrino’s mouth thinned, his eyes widening in disbelief. “You dare to defy me?” He said accusingly, absolute loathing in his voice. “Over this? You would side with it over me?”

“I’m not yours, Mark. I don’t know how many times I have to tell you. I’ll never be yours.” Jared’s hands uncurled. Jensen could see the claws slowly emerging from Jared’s fingernails.

“If I can’t have you, he certainly won’t.” Pellegrino snarled and leapt forward, shifting mid-leap. The blond wolf lunged toward Jensen, its mouth open, rows of sharp teeth heading straight toward him.But Jared was in motion as well, his tall, lanky form shifting to that of his large, powerful wolf. Colliding midair, he knocked Pellegrino to the ground and, snarling and biting, the two wolves fought.

Pellegrino’s wolf was slightly smaller than Jared’s dark chestnut wolf, but what he lost in height he more than made up for in ferocity, experience, and muscle mass. Pellegrino growled and grabbed for Jared’s shoulder, but Jared leapt over him, raking his claws along Pellegrino’s flank as he shot through the air. A strangled yip filled the night. Pellegrino rounded, teeth digging into Jared’s haunch, and Jared growled.

Jensen scuttled away from the straining, snarling wolves as they bit and tore at one another. In the moonlight, black splatters covered the rocky shore, and the scent of copper filled the air. Jensen watched in horrified fascination as the two beasts hurtled against each other again and again in a horrific dance of death.

With his greater experience, Pellegrino was slowly pushing, herding Jared back against the rocky ledge that lined the shoreline before the trees started. Forced to retreat, Jared’s hind leg stumbled over a large rock as he bumped up against the rock ledge. He had just turned his head to see what was in his path when Pellegrino struck. The blond wolf sailed over Jared and grabbed him by the back of the neck. His hind legs straddled Jared in a parody of mating as Pellegrino attempted to wrestle him to the ground.

Jared managed to wriggle free, though not without losing a chunk of fur. Pellegrino’s teeth were black with Jared’s blood as the younger wolf rolled onto his side with a strangled howl. Pellegrino reared up,and Jensen could see the gloating triumph in his eyes as the blond wolf stalked toward Jared, his cock starting to peek from its sheath.

Instead of crawling away, Jared snarled and rushed headlong toward him. Pellegrino reared up in surprise, some part of him unwilling to go for the kill, leaving Jared the perfect opening to grab the blond wolf by the throat.

Time slowed to a crawl.

Jensen watched, and for an instant, saw Jared’s hesitation. Then Pellegrino snarled and started to struggle. Jared tilted his head, his green-blue eyes glowing in the moonlight and everything sped back up. Jared was biting down, tearing and shaking his head, Pellegrino’s throat between his teeth. Pellegrino jerked and Jensen watched an arterial spray of blood cover the blond wolf’s fur.

Jensen lay there, stunned, as Pellegrino’s glowing blue eyes started to fade, a hurt, accusing look on his wolf’s face. Jared stood over the alpha’s body as if to assure himself this was really happening. As the last glimmer of life faded out of Pellegrino’s eyes, Jared tipped his head to the moon and howled.

Stunned, Jensen sat and surveyed the victor, finally able to see Jared’s wolf clearly for the first time. He was beautiful, with a large angular head and sharp pointed ears. A cinnamon coloured blaze ran down his wolf’s chest, brighter than the glossy sable brown of the rest of his coat. Jared turned glowing green gold eyes toward Jensen. Jensen’s chest clenched painfully tight as that intelligent gaze raked over him, and Jared growled.

Gathering his wits about him, Jensen started to crawl backward again. He wasn’t exactly sure what he’d seen go on between the two men, but from the look in Jared’s eyes, the one thing he knew for sure, he’d just replaced one alpha with another.

Jared padded purposefully toward him, the wolf blurring, rippling seamlessly into the man. Jensen tried not to cringe as Jared crouched in front of him completely naked, covered in blood, but surprisingly wound free. The shift had healed his wounds.

Jensen stared. There was nowhere he could go, no way he could escape. Jared was even stronger than Pellegrino.

“Jensen. Are you all right?”

Of all the things Jared could have said, that wasn’t what Jensen had expected. He flinched as Jared raised a hand toward his face. Jared pulled back, hurt radiating from his still glowing eyes. “I – Are you okay? Oh god your face! What's he’s done to you…?” Jared’s fingers feathered nervously over Jensen’s cheek and lips, careful not to touch. “We-we’ll look after that later, for now we need to get out of here. The pack will be here soon.”

Jensen jerked in reflex, the pack. Jared. He didn’t understand what was happening. “Fuck you, I won’t be your bitch.”

“Jensen we don’t have time for this, we need to get moving. I’ve killed Mark, and with the rest of them already hyped up for the mating run, they’ll want you, or they’ll want blood. Anyone’s. I need to get you somewhere safe so I can claim you.”

“Claim me? Just fucking kill me. I won’t live like that. I won’t be turned into one of you.”

“Calm down. You don’t know what you’re saying.” Jared laid a sympathetic hand on Jensen’s shoulder, and Jensen batted it away.

“Of course I fucking understand. Your kind killed my family. I won’t be turned. I’d rather die.”

Jensen watched Jared’s Adam’s apple bob as the younger man swallowed. “You don’t mean that.” Jared’s voice came out as a whisper.

“I’m a fucking U.S. Marshal Jared, of course I mean it. I know what’s coming.”

Howls in the distance had Jared’s head jerking up. He stood and sniffed the air cautiously.

“They’ll be here soon.”

“And when they come, I want to be dead. If you won’t kill me yourself, at least let me crawl to the water and drown. If you have any kindness in you, Jared, please let me die a man.” It was as close to begging as Jensen could bring himself. He stared up at Jared, his heart hammering in his chest.

Jared reached down, and Jensen let out breath he didn’t know he was holding as the man helped him to rise to his feet. Jensen turned to hobble towards the river’s edge, but Jared grabbed him by the shoulder, spinning him around, were strength suddenly evident as he grasped Jensen’s wrist in an unbreakable grip.

The moonlight cast Jared’s vulpine features in shadow. His expression inscrutable, a thread of steel in his voice as he stared down at Jensen, “No.”

Jensen’s mouth gaped, that one word shattering any hope he had of escape. Jared’s large hand was like a manacle, were strength easily holding him in place. Another howl in the distance had them both glancing over their shoulders.

In a blur of motion Jensen barely had time to register, Jared reached out one long arm and plucked Jensen’s six-foot-one, one hundred and eighty pound frame off the ground like it was nothing. There was a dull thud as bare flesh struck muscle covered bone and Jensen was slammed down on Jared’s shoulder. All breath knocked out of him, as Jared hefted him in a fireman's carry across his shoulder. Jensen sagged against him weakly, vertigo and exhaustion getting the better of him at first, but then he got his second wind and started to struggle, slapping and punching at the taut lines of Jared’s ass and kidneys.

“You’re mine. And you’re going to stay mine.” Jared’s arm tightened around his legs, and he gave Jensen’s jeans-clad ass a sharp warning slap, “Behave,” he growled, before starting off towards the woods at a loping run.

From his only good view, that of the ground beneath him, Jensen was startled to see Jared had partially shifted. His feet were now the surefooted pads of a wolf, while the rest of him remained fully human. As Jared sped up, Jensen was jostled up and down over Jared’s shoulder, and the view of the ground became dizzying.

Jensen clutched haphazardly at Jared’s waist to minimize the swaying as the ground sped by. Under the forest canopy, Jensen’s world narrowed to darkness with occasional patches of silver where the moonlight was able to break through to the forest floor. Jared’s were vision seemed unimpeded by the black, and he ran with a sylvan grace Jensen was forced to admire.

Where was Jared taking him? And if he wasn’t going to simply kill him, like Pellegrino, why hadn’t Jared gone ahead and thrown him on his belly at the river’s shore and claimed him?

Lulled by the heat radiating off Jared’s body, his body and mind in shock, it was no time before Jensen succumbed to sleep. He was jarred awake by the sound of splashing water when Jared changed directions to run along a shallow brook. Using the same trick as Jensen to cover his scent, Jared followed the brook for some time, until he finally branched off into a larger stream. Jensen didn’t know how long he had been unconscious, but Jared’s pace was the same headlong rush, the were not winded in the least, or troubled by the grueling pace, or by Jensen’s additional weight. Jensen’s spirits fell. With this strong an opponent, what chance did he have of escaping him before it was too late?

Shivering with fever, Jensen continued to slip in and out of consciousness. When he woke again, the sound of rushing water was close, not as wild and massive as Munter’s Gorge, but a falls all the same. The full strength of the waning moon poured over them and Jensen could clearly see that Jared was now slogging calf-high through ice encrusted water. Jared climbed out of the stream onto the rocky shore. Jensen could feel the sparkling spray of mist from the waterfall on his bare flesh. The sounds of the falls grew louder with each step.

Jared dropped down onto a lower ledge and carefully threaded his way through the rocks surrounding a large pond, making his way closer and closer to the falls.

“Hold onto me.” Jared whispered before he let go of Jensen’s legs and reached up to grasp at the rocks overhead.

Jensen could see Jared was now fully human. His bare feet felt their way carefully along a narrow ledge of rock. When the ledge ended, Jared jumped, grasping at rocks overhead, and swung them both over the opening until his feet could again find ledge.

As the chilly mist started to fall on his bare shoulders, it dawned on Jensen that Jared was climbing across the face of the falls and somehow working his way behind the rushing water. Jared’s final jump ‘Tarzaned’ them to another ledge of rock directly behind the falls and onto firm ground. Jared’s hand wrapped around Jensen’s legs again, and his other hand rubbed Jensen’s ass reasurringly.

“We did it; we’re here.” Jared’s voice was low and gruff but echoed in the small cavity of rock behind the falls. Jensen could smell water all around him. He shivered in cold as the icy mist covered him.

Jared patted his ass again and then ducked down, going deeper into the rock face. A cave, Jensen’s mind filled in as they were plunged into complete darkness. With sure feet, Jared padded through the darkness until he apparently reached his destination. He came to a halt and gently set Jensen down.

Jensen flinched as fur touched his skin. Feeling around, he realized Jared had placed him on some kind of fur 'bed’. He sat up, and Jared chuckled, too close to his ear. Jensen startled, wishing suddenly he, too, could see in the dark. Jared’s hand squeezed his shoulder gently. “Stay now. Not gonna bite, not right now at least.” Jared’s hands left Jensen.

As his eyes adjusted to the gloom, he could make out the faint glow of Jared’s green-gold eyes in the cave but nothing else.

He shivered at the sudden loss of body heat when Jared moved away. It made Jensen aware of exactly how cold he was, his plunge in the water and exposure dipping his core body temperature to a dangerous low.

There was the sound of a match being struck, then sparks appeared in the air like fireflies as Jared worked to start a fire a few paces away.

Soon, a roaring fire was going and Jensen was able to look around. The cave had a few meager amenities, a fire pit and wood stacked neatly in the corner as well as the reasonably well-padded bed he sat on. A few tins of canned food, and what looked like an emergency supply bag were stacked neatly in the corner This cave wasn’t an accidental find, Jared had been here before. Jensen looked down, his hand running over the surprisingly soft fur covering the bed. Surely not…

“Bear. It’s bear.” Dimples flashed on Jared’s face, and he snorted. “What, you think we keep our own pelts around like souvenirs? Give us a little credit, Jensen. My uncle and I brought it down on a hunting trip a couple years ago. Tanned it myself. He found this cave when he was a kid, showed it to me years ago. We always kept it our little secret.” Jared’s demeanor grew serious as he poked absently at the fire. He rubbed his forehead, “It will take them a while to find us, if they even can. Gives us enough time to get what’s needed done before anyone arrives.”

“And what things do you think need to get done, Jared?” Jensen’s voice sounded weak, even to his own ears, and he could detect a slight tremor in it. His throat was dry, and he wondered at the reasoning, or instinctual territorial behavior that had Jared bringing him here to rape and claim him instead of simply doing it at the beach.

“I can smell your fear, Jensen. It’s radiating off you in waves. There’s no need to be afraid of me. I don’t mean you any harm.” Jared’s voice was calm in the quiet of the cave, the only other sound the crackle of the growing fire.

“Let’s just say, I know, first hand what your kind are capable of.” Jensen voice was a low growl. He pushed himself back on the bed, farther away from Jared. He glanced around for anything he could use as a weapon, on Jared, or on himself.

Jared stood, agitation rolling off him in waves as the flickering firelight illuminated the long, golden length of him.

Jensen’s mouth went dry as Jared stalked toward him, backlit by the fire. The large bone-crushing hands, the shaggy halo of hair that hid half his face, broad muscular shoulders and wide chest covered with its dark dusting of hair. Jensen’s eyes followed that dark trail down to Jared’s cock, large, even at rest. There was no doubting Jared as wolf or man was a large, graceful predator. Jensen tried to line that Jared up with the tentative, shy virgin of only a few nights ago. Maybe it had all been an act? Part of a trap?

Jensen sat up, his fists clenched in preparation, but Jared had him by the shoulders, slamming him against the cave wall before he could blink. “I’m sorry about your family, but the pack that attacked them may have had their reasons too. That one incident doesn’t define us.” Jared shook his head. “From what I’ve seen, you know nothing of our kind. You only want to kill or lock away what you don’t understand.”

Mournful prismatic eyes stared into Jensen’s. Jared reached out a hand, his fingers gently hovering above the jagged furrows Pellegrino had scored across his Jensen’s face.

 _Not so pretty now am I Jared?._ Jensen thought in grim satisfaction. He knew what came next. It gave Jensen some small satisfaction to at least deny Jared his _pretty_ omega prize. And after, well…. Jared couldn’t watch him every second. Jensen would take care of himself at the earliest opportunity.

“Then why are you in such a damn hurry to turn me if I’m so abhorrent to you?”

“Think about it, Jensen. By your actions, you’ve given us no choice. Pellegrino was a twisted fool, but he fell on a good idea, even if he didn’t intend to see it through. For the safety of all of us, you must be mated, your fate joined with the pack. There are over two hundred weres living peaceably here in Munter’s Gorge as part of the Iron Ridge pack. I can’t let you destroy that. Mated, if you still decide to take us down, at least you’ll go with us.”

“You set me up,” Jensen hissed, staring at Jared with nothing but loathing in his voice. “Everything was a lie. You wanted this to happen. I’d rather die than live out the rest of my life as some knot hungry slut.”

Jared flinched at Jensen’s angry words. “You don’t mean that. Maybe right now you do, but once you get used to the idea, you’ll be okay. I know it. One thing I know for sure though, Jensen, if we aren’t mated when they get here, they’ll tear you apart.”

Stubbornly Jensen lifted his chin as he spat out, “At least if I die, I die a man, not a bitch.”

Jared’s voice was soft, his hands cupping Jensen’s shoulders strangely gentle, He reached up to capture Jensen’s jaw, his thumb feathering gently over the claw marks on Jensen’s face, his face infinitely sad as he whispered. “You wouldn’t be the bitch.”

Jensen’s laugh was ugly, even to his own ears, “Oh yeah? How does that work Jared? How do I change biology? Once you’ve got me hanging off your knot it’s only a matter of time until I change, go into heat.”

“You wouldn’t be the bitch, Jensen, because I am.”

Jared lunged forward and bit into the meat of Jensen’s neck, canines digging deep into his flesh.

Jensen cried out in shock and pain. He shoved wildly at Jared’s chest, trying to extract himself from his hold, but it was like trying to move a mountain. Jared stayed firmly in place, his teeth clamped onto Jensen’s neck, sucking noisily at the blood pouring from his shoulder. Finally, long moments later, panting, he let go and started to carefully lave over the torn flesh with his broad tongue.

“It’s done” Jared said, his voice ragged. “Now, you need to fuck me.”

Jensen stared up at him like he was crazy. With the claw marks on his legs from Ty’s attack there had been no saliva shared, so the risk of turning had been minimal. With Jared’s bite, Jensen could already feel the heat of the Lycus virus as it burned through his veins. Without some form of intervention, he’d be turned within the next ten minutes.

“You bastard.” Jensen swore as he tried to scramble back, but Jared had his wrists in his hands, pinning him in place.

“Listen to me, Jensen, I know it’s not what you want to hear, but if you don’t fuck me, you’ll turn omega. You need to fuck me now.”

Jensen looked at Jared, blinking in disbelief. It was some kind of sick trick. Jared didn’t know what he was talking about. Jensen writhed in Jared’s unforgiving hold, as his skin began to ignite in flames.

Huffing out an impatient breath, Jared shoved Jensen back onto the covers and jerked him down lower on the bed. He swiftly unbuckled Jensen’s pants, and had them halfway down his hips before Jensen even gathered his thoughts enough to protest. Jared effortlessly flipped him onto his belly to finish the job. When Jensen began to struggle, Jared growled and shoved one of Jensen’s arms up between his shoulder blades, holding him in place.

Pinned, his temperature and ire rising in pace with each other, Jensen kept up a steady stream of curses. Everything seemed to roll off Jared’s back. When Jared had eased Jensen’s pants down to the gouges Ty had clawed across his calf, Jared whistled. Jensen glanced back, and it looked far worse than the last time he’d seen it, with angry black lines starting to spread along Jensen’s leg.

“My god, Jensen. This is way past infected. You could die from this, you should have told Earl. Fuck! We don’t have any time to waste, you need to fuck me now.”

Jensen snorted, hysterical laughter bubbling up inside him. Given what he had just done to him Jared’s concern seemed highly implausible. He started to laugh, soundlessly, heat burned through his veins like wildfire.

Jared rolled him to his back, and Jensen whimpered, helpless. His head lolled to the side, and he wondered how Jared thought he was going to be able to fuck him when Jensen could hardly move without screaming.

Jared grasped Jensen’s head and turned his face up toward him. He crouched down and began to kiss Jensen’s face, pressing urgent kisses across Jensen’s face and lips. Each kiss was like an electric jolt sparking through Jensen’s over stimulated skin. Jensen’s eyes rolled up into his head as he convulsed, hot and shivering at the same time. Unfazed, Jared kept touching him, running his hands up and down Jensen’s sides and chest.

Pain was lighting up every nerve ending he owned. Jensen lay there, helpless to do anything but beg. “Please, Jared, please, kill me, please?”

“No, no, never, Jen, hang on, I’ll make it better, promise. Just hang on.” Jared murmured as he continued to touch Jensen’s body.

It took Jensen a while to notice the fiery agony he was bathed in had begun to lessen. It took even longer for him to connect the dots that it was Jared’s touch that heralded that change. His touch was a soothing balm to Jensen’s burning skin.

Jensen gasped as Jared’s tongue swiped over his bottom lip, and pressed along the seam. “Let me in, Jensen, you’ll feel so good, baby. Let me make you feel good.” Jared murmured.

Gasping for breath, Jensen opened his mouth. Jared thrust his tongue inside, mapping Jensen’s mouth in soft kitten licks, spreading soothing warmth through Jensen’s mouth, quenching the fire that burned through him, containing it until there was only one burning epicenter of need.

Jensen was shocked to see his cock hard and straining, angry red as it rubbed against Jared’s silken skin. Jared’s own cock rutted against the spur of Jensen’s hip in time with Jensen’s thrusts.

Jensen whined and shook his head. This couldn’t be real. Jared palmed Jensen’s erection, stroking his hand up over the weeping head and fisting its hard length.

But unlike everywhere else, where Jared’s touch brought relief, Jensen’s cock continued to burn and throb.

Jared reached behind him, and he moaned, his back arched like a bow as he continued to rut up against Jensen as he worked himself open. Jensen heard a wet sucking sound then Jared’s hand was back, grasping Jensen’s cock, spreading slick over his hard length. Jensen whimpered and tossed his head, biting his lip. Jared’s touch brought no comfort. Jensen needed more.

“It’s time, Jensen. It’s time for us to mate.”

Jensen shook his head, _No, no, no_. Incapable of speech, he only whimpered tossing his head frantically while his body strained, _Yes, yes, yes._

Jared knelt up and, grasping Jensen’s cock in his hand, lined it up with his hole.

 _Yes!_ Jensen howled inside his head as Jared slowly, relentlessly, lowered himself down onto Jensen’s shaft until he was buried to the hilt.

Jensen screamed, his cock, now completely buried inside Jared. Jensen’s mind and body were at complete odds as he writhed and bucked, desperate to bury himself even deeper in Jared’s passage, while his hands pushed at Jared’s chest to get away. _No!_ his mind screamed as he railed against the inevitability of their mating.

Jared leaned down, capturing Jensen’s hands on either side of his head and lacing their fingers together. He started to lift himself up and down on Jensen’s cock, setting up a slow, steady pace, impaling himself again and again. As he stared down into Jensen’s eyes, his own started to glow the same soft green as before. Jared began to pick up the pace, his own hard and weeping cock slapping wetly against Jensen’s stomach as he rode Jensen’s shaft.

Jensen bit and gnawed his lip as the fiery sensation seemed to shrink, recede, until its epicenter was a searing ring around the base of Jensen’s shaft. He cried out in pain, his voice scream shot and ragged. Jared captured his lips again, licking and kissing, trying to soothe the hurt.

“It’ll be over soon. Stay with me, Jensen, just stay with me.” Jared’s stubbled cheek rubbed against his torn flesh as he whispered tenderly in his ear.

And Jensen believed him. There was some hardwired instinct telling him only Jared could soothe the scorching pain. Only by getting as close as he could, buried as deep as he could be inside Jared, would this pass. He started to buck up as Jared thrust down, the base of his dick bumping awkwardly against Jared’s entrance. Inexplicably he was finding it harder and harder to push himself back completely inside the safety of Jared’s channel, his shaft catching on Jared’s rim again and again.

Jared whimpered as Jensen caught roughly against Jared’s hole, and Jensen rolled his hips and thrust harder, sighing when he managed to push through the tough outer ring of muscle once again. Jared started to roll his hips, Jensen’s cock pressed tight against Jared’s prostate, and Jared’s cock twitched and jerked between them. It wouldn't take much until he was coming. If only it wasn’t so hard to push inside. Jensen groaned in frustration as his cock caught again at Jared’s rim.

Jensen peered down between their bodies and saw a hard red bulge at the base of his cock. He would forever deny the high pitched yelp of disbelief he made when he realized it was his newly formed knot bumping up against Jared’s hole.

“So close, Jen,” Jared panted, sweat covering his body as he strained above Jensen, “’M yeah, just one more time.”

Jensen could hear the hunger in Jared’s voice, and when he looked up, Jensen’s mouth went dry at the sight of all that beauty and muscle straining over him. Jared’s hair was damp and curling around his neck, a pink blush on his cheeks, eyelids half closed, heavy with passion and perfect pink lips gaping half open.

Something sparked inside Jensen and with a snarled roar, his hips surged up, burying his newly formed knot deep inside Jared’s channel. Jared tossed back his head and with an inarticulate cry, came untouched over Jensen’s stomach. His channel clenched and rippled around Jensen’s cock, pushing him to the brink, and with a matching scream, Jensen painted the inside of Jared’s passage with his seed.

Jared slumped down, sprawling boneless across Jensen’s chest with a sated moan. Blissed out, Jensen hummed contentedly as he continued to rock his hips, his knot shooting load after load deep inside Jared.

Jensen’s pleasure was short lived though. The languid bliss turned to agony as something began to claw its way up through him, tearing a place for itself deep in his chest. Jensen screamed, but no sound came out.

Raking claws tore at him, pushing him back, into a far corner in his mind, making room for something new.

Jensen blinked and _Wolf_ looked out through his eyes.

Wolf’s gaze traveled over his omega sprawled enticingly over his chest. The intoxicating scent of their combined musk and their delightfully conjoined bodies triggered desire for his mate all over again. With a triumphant howl, Wolf’s knot pulsed and he came again, deep inside his Mate’s fertile passage.

He inhaled deeply, luxuriating in the _‘rightness’_ of claiming his omega this way. He grabbed Mate by the neck, turning him so he could nuzzle at his face and jaw, covering him with his scent. Wolf stared in outraged disapproval at his omega’s unmarked neck. With a possessive growl he willed his blunt canines to shift, and sank his sharp fangs into the juncture of Mate's neck and shoulder, biting deep, marking what was his. _Mine_ , Wolf’s silent howl echoed in his mind. _Mine!_

Wolf suckled, making sure the mark took, deep and fast. Blood welled in his mouth, hot and copper bright. Mate moaned in pain, and struggled, but Wolf held him in his rightful place next to him. He could hear Mate's heart beat faster in his chest, as he came fully awake, his body stiffening where he lay against Wolf. Ignoring Mate’s fearful whimper, Wolf pulled him in closer, _Mine!_

Wolf reluctantly let his fangs retract, releasing his mate.

He closed his eyes and nestled his head against his omega’s throat. Wolf inhaled deeply. A low satisfied growl rumbled deep in his chest when Mate’s scent shifted to come in line with his own.

With Mate now proudly marked for all to see, Wolf curled his body in closer. He was saddened at the tremors of fear and apprehension running through his omegas body. Wolf rolled them, lifting Mate’s leg and maneuvering himself behind him. Mate cried out when Wolf’s inflated knot pulled at hispuffy rim, and Wolf nipped at him chidingly. Finally repositioned, he pulled Mate in next to his chest, spooning his body up against him. The omega whimpered and bared his long vulnerable neck submissively for his alpha. Nipping playfully at the golden flesh Wolf hummed in approval.

Still buried balls deep inside his shivering omega, Wolf continued to come again and again. He rocked gently against his mate, petting him to assure by both touch and scent that he was claimed. Finally, lulled by exhaustion, Mate drifted off to sleep. When the fire burned low and darkness blanketed them, Wolf followed his omega into sleep.

In the darkness, Wolf howled and Jensen screamed.

Comments always appreciated ^^


	9. Wolf

 

Sometime in the night, Wolf awoke, still curled protectively around his mate, cock buried loosely in the delicious, slick warmth of his hole. Half asleep, Mate whined, low and needy. Wolf sniffed the air. His nostrils flared at the telltale change to Mate’s scent, spicier now, richer, bursting with life. He smiled in pride, Mate's first heat had begun. Yawning, his mate rocked back against him, and Wolf’s cock twitched with renewed interest.

Wolf squeezed his mate’s ass and playfully nibbled at Omega’s neck and mouthed over the mating mark on his shoulder, still tender after only this short time. Content, he growled, the sound loud in the quiet of the cave and, dozy, Mate mumbled contentedly under his breath.

Carefully, Wolf eased his rapidly filling cock out of Omega’s hole. Sliding his hand possessively along the contours of his mate’s body, he rose to feed the ebbing flames. Wolf smiled, he needed to see his mate the next time they knotted.

In the low light of the rekindled fire, Wolf surveyed his omega’s lean, beautiful body. Long floppy chestnut hair covered his face, and bruises from Wolf’s hands decorated his body. Wolf’s cock throbbed, the roar of his pounding blood suddenly deafeningly loud in his ears. He licked his lips and padded back to bed, too eager to wait any longer.

Mate opened stormy green-blue eyes and gazed at Wolf, and rolled leisurely onto his back. Dimples appeared in his cheeks as he stretched luxuriantly on the bed, miles of golden skin on display. Omega’s hardening cock nestled in a dark nest of curling hairs as he pushed himself up on an elbow and watched Wolf with a shy smile. “I thought maybe I had simply dreamed all this. Then I wake up and you’re here and we’re together, and it’s all real! If someone could have told me how good that was, I think I would have gotten mated years ago.”

Wolf growled, his gaze narrowing. Omega was his, no one else’s. Wolf mouthed over his mating mark on his mate’s shoulder, and with a laugh, Omega wriggled and rolled onto his stomach, twisting his shoulder to smile back at Wolf.

“I know, I know, I’m all yours. You’re stuck with me now.” The sharp bark of Mate’s laughter filled Wolf’s ears and his heart. Possessively, he pressed a kiss to the soft skin at the nape of his omega’s neck before running his tongue down the knobs of his spine. His hands trailed along Mate’s warm skin and teased at the cleft of his ass. He used his blunt claws to pry apart the cheeks of Mate’s ass, staring hungrily at his puffy entrance, still swollen and red from their first knotting.

“Oh God, Jensen,” Mate moaned and bucked back against his hold, rolling his hips in equal parts frustration and anticipation as a steady stream of slick started to seep from his entrance. “I think I’m burning up. I’m so warm all over.”

Wolf inhaled deeply and rubbed his bristled chin gently against the swell of Mate’s ass. The sweet scent of his fertile omega in heat, mixed with the tart, salty smell of his own release, filled his nose. He leaned in, eager to taste. His long tongue darted out to lave a broad circle around his mate's slick entrance. “Jensen, Jensen, what’re you tryin’ to do to me? Oh my God. Fuck no. Oh!– ”

Spicy dark flavors flooded his taste buds, and Wolf quickly pushed his tongue deeper inside the tight ring of muscle to sample more. He smiled as he listened to Mate’s gurgled moans.

Whimpers of _Do it. I need you inside me. Fuckmenow!_ filled the air and his mate’s body jolted, jerking against the unexpected sensations. Exhaling raggedly as he became accustomed to Wolf’s presence inside him, Mate began to respond; pushing back on Wolf’s tongue, his whole body quivering in pleasure as Wolf licked into him.

Wolf’s cock throbbed insistently and with one last taste, he reluctantly withdrew before he was too swollen to bury his already swelling knot inside his mate. He knelt up between Mate’s legs, a low rumble in his throat, nudged at Omega’s entrance, and pushed inside.

After a bitten off sob of pleasure-pain, Mate huffed and pushed back eagerly. The natural resistance of his body, eased by a thick coating of slick, gave way easily to Wolf’s cock. With a breathy gasp, Omega chuckled, “Come on, Jen, this ass ain’t gonna fuck itself.”

Wolf smiled fondly down at him, his desire to sink inside his mate immediately tempered only by the knowledge that Omega needed time to adjust. He rubbed the head of his cock against Mate’s hole a few times before easing in; more gently than the first time, punching his hips a little further each time, until his knot was snug against his mate’s entrance. With a final quick shove, and Omega's bitten off yelp, he forced his thickening knot inside Mate’s slick cavity.

Wolf groaned, his knot so swollen he was reduced to shallow thrusts, brushing against Mate’s prostate in a way he wasn’t sure had been done in their first mating.

Mate buried his shaggy head in his hands and mumbled incoherently as Wolf continued to rock inside, grinding his hips against Wolf’s thrusts. Wolf wrapped his arm around his mate and eased them both to their sides, pushing Mate's leg up so he had better access to rut against him. Just in time, he remembered to reach around and strip Omega’s cock, rock hard and leaking. Wolf ran his hand over the broad, weeping head, and began to fist his mate.

Mate’s hand clamped down on Wolf’s hip, the other buried in the furs covering the bed, his entire body straining as Wolf jacked him. Three, four firm strokes later and Mate came with a guttural moan, spilling over Wolf’s fingers. With Omega clenched tight around him, Wolf’s knot spasmed and he came, seconds later. Panting loudly, Wolf slumped against his mate’s warm body, burying his head in the nape of the sweat soaked neck as his swollen knot continued to shoot load after load deep into his mate's channel.

Joined together for the immediate future, Wolf hummed and gently rubbed Omega’s cooling seed over his quivering stomach, working it into his soft, golden skin. Lifting his hand to his mate’s lips, he bumped his fingers against Mate’s mouth in offering. Eyes wide and dazed, his mate’s lips parted, the pink tip of his tongue darting out to clean the last of his spend from Wolf’s hand.

Threading his fingers through his mate’s larger ones, Wolf laved his tongue over their mating mark again and inhaled deeply. Omega’s musky, sweet scent was now a blend with his own. _Mine_. Wolf smiled. _Mine_.

The scent of another alpha had Wolf’s hackles standing on end. He leapt up, a soft cry coming from his mate as his still softening knot ripped free of Omega’s hole.

Wolf growled, lips curled back to show his teeth. He waited for the trespasser he smelled at the entrance of the cave to come closer.

Mate sat up, crying out. “Jensen, Jensen, no!”

Wolf whirled around and stalked over to his mate, puzzled. His blunt fingers clenched and unclenched, his nose wrinkled at the foreign scent invading their den. Wolf’s hackles still stood on end, he glanced again and again at the cave’s entrance. _Danger_ his senses screamed. Mate seemed unthreatened, and Wolf narrowed his eyes, demanding information.

Omega bowed his head, swiftly baring his neck in a sign of submission that soothed something inside Wolf. “Alpha. Please, it’s a friend. There is no threat. Please,” he whispered, his neck still exposed. Mate's eyes fluttered closed, and he swallowed, the smell of anxiety heavy on his skin. Wolf hesitated; and glanced at the entrance to their den. The signals he was giving were clear, there was anxiety, but no fear. The hairs on the nape of Wolf’s neck started to settle.

Dipping his head, Wolf stepped closer and nudged his forehead against Mate’s, acknowledging the trust he placed in his instincts. Prismatic eyes looked up at him from beneath his shaggy hair, and his mate smiled reassuringly. Nodding, Wolf smiled and kissed and licked into Omega’s mouth before turning toward the passageway to the falls. He took up a relaxed stance between the entrance to the cave and his mate and waited.

“Easy now, son. Don’t mean you or your mate any harm. I’m just here to make sure you’re all right.” A deep voice with a touch of a drawl spoke from the darkness.

Wolf could see the man’s outline at the entrance to the cave. Mate stayed where he was, on the bed.

“Alpha Morgan here, we met in town. I seek your permission to enter.”

Wolf’s nostrils flared. He remembered this alpha’s scent from his ‘other’ life… a _mechanic_. Wolf considered the invading alpha’s request. He had been suitably respectful in his request, Wolf could take no offense.

Wolf nodded his permission, and Mate let out the ragged breath.

“Thank you, Alpha,” Mate whispered and reached to grab Wolf’s hand, tightening on it reassuringly.

Wolf squeezed back; but kept his eyes trained on the mouth of the cave. Wolf crouched, at the ready to protect Mate, if need be.

The tall, older alpha, _Morgan_ – the name floated up out of the darkness of the ‘ _other life_ ’ – entered and stepped out of the shadows. Morgan stopped just inside the entrance, his fingers running through his salt and pepper beard as he surveyed the cave and its inhabitants. Seemingly satisfied by what he saw, he gazed directly at Wolf and nodded, as an equal. It eased some of the tension thrumming through Wolf.

Wolf stepped back half a pace, so the older alpha could see his fine mate, see the mark that made him his.

“Jared, are you okay? Jesus, you did it.” Morgan whistled softly, “I’d grown up with the stories, that it was possible for an omega to turn a human, let alone turn one into an alpha. I’d never have believed it, but I do now. Has he hurt you?”

Morgan’s voice was low but Wolf was listening. His nose wrinkled at the insulting suggestion, that he might hurt Mate. Wolf’s lips stretched back from his teeth, a rumbling snarl starting to fill the cave. He would have stepped forward, but ‘ _Jared_ ’ grabbed Wolf’s hand and shook his head.

“No, no, it’s– we’re fine. Maybe need some extra food. We’re gonna be here awhile. My heat’s started, but we’re good. He’s good. Great even. The change, it healed him, Jeff! Healed more than I would have believed possible, the old scars on his hands and feet, even they are gone. It’s like he’s been reborn. When this is all over, Jensen’s going to be fine, better even.” Mate – _Jared_ chewed at his lip and glanced at Wolf nervously, “Only thing is we have maybe a small problem at the moment of his wolf being too much in control.”

Mate – _Jared’s_ voice was breathy and rushed, a spicy scent exuding from him as his heat began to rise again.

Inhaling deeply, Wolf reached down and curled one hand around his balls. Absently, he rolled them between his fingers as he looked at his mate. He could smell _Jared’s_ slick start to run as a wave of heat ran through his mate’s body. Wolf’s cock started to stiffen. He glared impatiently at their guest and tugged at his cock meaningfully.

There had been enough _‘talking’_ , now. Mate needed his knot. Wolf licked his lips, eyeing his omega through half lidded eyes.

Ignoring the blatant request to leave, Morgan took a half step toward Wolf, his hands outstretched and voice low. “Jensen… Alpha. I know you have a fine mate and want to be with him, but I’m sure this also must all seem strange as well. I want you to know it’s important to stay calm. When Jared mated with you, bit you, you were changed. You’re not human anymore, you’re something much different – better, I believe. But it’s a dangerous time, now, as your wolf self finds his way into this world. Don’t worry, you won’t try to hurt Jared, in fact the opposite, as his mate you’ll protect him at all costs.”

Wolf snorted, he knew this. Knew his puny ‘ _other self_ ’ was locked away for the moment. Huffing in anger, Wolf’s hand slipped from his cock, he would make the alpha leave if he had to, unconsciously his claws started to drop, his fingers shifting to better protect Mate. Wolf snarled and circled Morgan, his gaze narrowing as he began to run out of patience.

“Oh, my God Jared, he shouldn’t be able to do that so early.”

Mate nodded and closed his eyes as he rocked his body against the bedcovers his heat rising.

Undaunted, Morgan persisted, “Jensen, you’re a werewolf with new abilities and senses, and you’re part of my pack now, one of us. It is my duty to protect you both, and you need to know I will see you both safely through this.”

The older alpha’s voice took on a tone, that made Wolf’s ear’s twitch, Morgan’s alpha voice reverberating in the room.

Some balance inside Wolf shifted as the Alpha’s voice filled the cave. Wolf growled and lowered his head, instinctively acknowledging the pack leader’s power.

Morgan rumbled softly in approval and touched Wolf’s head. Acceptance and joy radiated through Wolf as Morgan accepted him into the pack. He smiled broadly and butted his head into Morgan’s palm, his claws retracting slowly.

“Jensen, I want you to listen to me. You can’t take your new wolf form yet, it’s too far from the full moon for you to shift, but your fledgling wolf has enough power, fueled by Jared’s heat, to take control for a while. That’s what’s happening to you. You need to learn to work with your wolf, Jensen and care for your mate.”

Wolf growled in agreement. Of course he would, Mate – _Jared_ was his. Wolf would keep him safe at all costs.

Wolf shifted uncomfortably, he might be pack and subject to Morgan’s rule, but he did not like being told what he could and could not do. He padded back and forth in front of _Morgan_. Wolf wasn’t out of control. Wolf rolled his shoulders, cranking his neck in irritation.

“Jeff, I think you should go. Jensen gets it, I’m sure. He just has a lot to take in, but he’ll be okay, we both will. He hasn’t hurt me. Tell the pack to stay away, too. As long as I’m in heat, Jensen’s wolf will probably call the shots. If you can leave food and maybe clothes outside? I think we’ll be good.”

 _Jared_ looked sad, his face flushed with heat, forehead wrinkling in concern. He stared at the other alpha in silent communication.

Wolf stopped pacing, he had had enough. It was time for the alpha to leave.

Morgan hastily stepped back, nodding his head at Wolf, “Alpha.”

Wolf nodded back, and Morgan started down the passageway.

“Morgan.” Mate’s voice made the older alpha, pause, listening.

“Be sure the rest of them know he had nothing to do with Pellegrino’s death. That’s on me. Jensen’s pack now. We’re safe.”

Morgan shook his head sadly. “Wish it were that easy, Jare. I know you’re safe with it, but it remains to be seen what the marshal will do when he’s back to himself in a few days.” Morgan’s gaze shifted briefly to Wolf, and when he growled Morgan wasted no more time, quickly leaving the cave.

Wolf padded over to the cave entrance and kicked at the sand. Growling he pissed on the sand where Morgan had stood, obscuring the offending scent of another alpha in his den.

When he turned, _Jared_ was rolling his eyes and had a soft smile on his face. Wolf grinned back at his mate.

“Me too. I thought he’d never leave.” Omega’s voice dropped lower.

Wolf stalked toward Mate. Arousal scented the air and a body-wide shudder ran through _Jared_ as he inched back further on the bed, eyes wide and lust-blown. Wolf snorted and grabbed him, flipping him easily onto his belly. Wolf lifted Mate’s hips, shoving his head down into the soft bedding before moving up behind him. Wolf’s legs straddled Mate’s, holding him in place with his thighs as surely as his hands.

Wolf stroked his half hard cock and it filled quickly. He prodded at _Jared’s_ slick hole, missing a few times in his eagerness to sink inside. Then his cock caught at Mate’s rim, and he pushed in. Wolf groaned at the tight fit, as Wolf’s legs on either side of Mate kept him from spreading wider in welcome. His knot already beginning to swell, Wolf howled as his omega's tight channel clamped down around him. Omega grunted, his large body shivered in pleasure as Wolf buried his knot completely in his mate.

Wolf ran his hand over Omega’s quivering back, then reached under and roughly jerked Mate in time with his own thrusts. _Jared’s_ cock was warm and heavy in Wolf’s hand, his heat in full sway. With a sharp cry, Omega came almost immediately, filling Wolf’s hand and splattering across his belly and bed furs.

Wolf grasped _Jared’s_ hips in his hands and started to thrust with purpose, rocking in and out as his knot caught again and again on his entrance.

 _Jared_ whimpered, and his entrance clenched down on Wolf’s swollen knot. Wolf’s bruising fingers gripped tighter on _Jared’s_ hips, and he leaned down, blanketing mate’s back. With a grunt, he shoved his swollen knot inside one last time, filling Mate to bursting, hitting that sparking spot inside. Mate undulated and bucked beneath him chanting, “Jen, Jen, Jen–”, reduced to a mild shudder as he tensed and cried out, a weak dribble of seed shooting from him onto the furs.

The fresh scent of _Jared’s_ seed filled the air and Wolf roared, coming once more. He bit down on Mate’s neck, on his mark, _MineMineMine_ echoing inside his head as he came.

Wolf pulled gently out of Mate with a wet sucking plop, and his omega whimpered in his sleep. They had fallen into a routine, the last day and a half, of sleeping and mating, and then Wolf doing a run to get water for Mate and himself. The first morning upon exiting the cave, Wolf immediately picked up the scent of pack. He quickly spied a large wrapped bundle propped up against the cave’s entrance. It smelled of food and other things.

 _Morgan– Alpha!_ he thought. The alpha had said he would bring supplies. Wolf grinned, his belly rumbling. There had been more than enough there to last them weeks, leaving Wolf free to tend to Mate’s needs.

Wolf rose to ease off the bed but was distracted by the rich scent coming off his mate. Instead he shuffled down and pulled his mate's cheeks apart and stared in fascination at the wet, puffy entrance. Come and slick from their repeated joining’s trickled out of Mate’s slack hole. The smell was intoxicating, but this was not about Wolf.

 _Jared_ wriggled, half asleep, “’M’sore Jen, give me a break.”

Easing his mate onto his back, Wolf folded his mate’s legs up, spreading his mate wide. He bent down and laved a long line from the top of omega’s balls down to his swollen entrance. Waking, omega tried to rear up, writhing beneath him, moaning, “Jensen, fuck Jensen. That feels...”

Mate made for a delicious, wanton sight. Calmly, Wolf held him in place and determinedly continued, more gently this time; his tongue burrowing into omega’s warm, wet hole. Unable to help himself, Wolf grabbed up _Jared’s_ hips, almost folding him in half as he shoved his face in tighter and began to suck at his mate’s hole, slurping up their mixed essence. His eyes rolled back in his head at the flavor of _Jared’s_ spicy slick mixed with his own seed. _Jared_ wormed his hand down to fist his own cock but Wolf snarled and batted it away as he continued to suckle his mate’s hole. Helpless, _Jared_ rolled his hips and moaned. He cried out, the smell of his seed in the air as he came untouched.

With one final lick Wolf pulled back, letting _Jared’s_ ass cheeks close, and cover his pretty, pink hole, satisfied he had done what he could to heal. Now, it was time to get down to business.

It had embarrassed Mate the first time, but Wolf had brooked no argument from his omega. His fertile was not leaving the safety of the cave, not under his watch. But Wolf knew his body had needs that must be met. Swallowing _Jared’s_ limp cock down, Wolf curled tongue over the flared head and began to suck. He waited patiently, Mate’s body already relaxed and boneless from his orgasm.

He pinched at his mate’s balls and _Jared_ moaned a soft _‘Ughh. Oh fuck!_. A red blush crept over his body, but he didn’t reach out to try to push Wolf away now. Wolf smiled around Mate’s cock. _Jared_ shivered in embarrassed desire.

With a final gentle squeeze on his balls, _Jared_ gave in and with a faint anguished cry warm, slightly salty piss began to shoot down Wolf’s throat. Wolf swallowed it all, rolling _Jared’s_ balls in his hand when he felt his mate trying to hold back.

Finally done, Wolf hummed in approval and gently licked his mate clean before he rose. Wolf was thirsty now too, and hungry, Mate must be as well. With a warning growl for him to stay, Wolf loped off down the cave’s passageway, drawn to the fresh clean scent of water outside.

Wolf stood for a moment on the small ledge outside the cave’s entrance, sheltered by the sparkling shield of falling water between him and the outside world. It was good to be alive!

Wolf wanted this to go on forever, protecting and caring for Mate; the sight and sound of his omega coming undone, the feeling of _Jared_ clenched tight around him, surrendering to him in every way. The heady knowledge that his Mate’s submission was earned by his trust and respect.

He dunked his head into the falling water and drank his fill. After a quick scrub, he emptied his bladder into the stream and stretched again before taking one last look around. Filling his mouth with freezing water he headed back inside the cave.

In his absence, exhausted by the rigors of his heat, Mate had fallen back to sleep again. Wolf tipped _Jared’s_ face up from the furs he had it buried into and shoved their lips together. Half asleep, Mate startled and opened his mouth.

Wolf let some of the cool mountain water trickle in. _Jared’s_ eyes snapped open and with a choking sputter, pulled away from Wolf, coughing. Wolf let him go and smiled in amusement as his flustered mate sat up, his cheeks blushed pink with embarrassment, his hair adorably messy around his face.

 _Jared_ rubbed his mouth and blinked a few more times before submitting meekly when Wolf gathered him tenderly in his arms and pulled him in again. This time Mate lapped enthusiastically at Wolf’s mouth. When all the water was gone, _Jared_ continued to suckle and lick at Wolf’s mouth, his scent thickening in the air.

Wolf smirked and reluctantly pushed Mate away; _Jared_ needed nourishment too, not just his knot! Wolf carried several of the many small packages of delicious smelling food to the bed, dropping them in his mate’s lap, and growled softly.

“You, you want me to open this?” _Jared_ glanced up, at him, a delightful blush of arousal covering his cheeks.

Wolf nodded and headed back out of the cave for more water. Mate would still be thirsty.

When he returned, _Jared_ knelt up and eagerly took Wolf’s gift of water. He dipped his head in thanks and gestured at the bed. The containers of meat and cheese and fruit were opened and ready to eat. Wolf growled in approval. Tasting a bit of everything to be sure it was safe, Wolf gently lifted a piece of fruit toward Mate’s mouth. _Jared_ reached for it, and Wolf pushed his hand away. Wolf would feed his omega.

 _Jared_ shivered, and his chest became blotchy and red. He swallowed heavily before taking the morsel Wolf offered with his teeth. Wolf’s approving rumble echoed in the cave, and he continued to offer Mate choice bits. When they had both eaten their fill, _Jared_ started to squirm on the bed and looked up at Wolf anxiously.

“Um, Jensen… alpha? I know you want to keep me safe and I know you’ve looked after the other things, but I need to go – go, outside, to do my business.” _Jared_ bit his lip, nervous, almond shaped eyes gazing imploringly at Wolf. Wolf’s eyes narrowed. Much as he wanted to keep Mate all to himself in the safety of the cave, he knew he had to let his mate do this.

Wolf grabbed omega’s neck warningly with his hand and tugged him up out of the bed. _Jared_ was stiff after lying so long, but he bowed his head submissively. Appeased, Wolf grabbed his hand and led him out of the cave.

Wolf patrolled the area while _Jared_ self-consciously looked for a good spot to do his business, blushing an even brighter shade of red as he squatted behind some bushes near the trees to defecate. When he was done, Wolf tugged his hand towards the pond below the falls, feeling playful. Wolf smiled and ran in ahead, thigh deep in the water and splashed at Mate.

“Jensen, much as I’d like to take a nice long bath, no, it’s too cold. We’ll freeze.”

Mate was right. It was too cold out here for them to play and Wolf yearned for the time to come when he could take his true form. By the time they had cleaned up as best they could _Jared_ had started to shiver so Wolf hurried them back to the cave. Once inside, Mate dropped to his knees before the ever present fire and tossed more firewood on the blaze. Shivering, he huddled in close to the flames.

Wolf padded up behind him and sat, drawing his omega up close against him, between his spread legs.

He ran his hands over omega’s chilled skin and nuzzled at his throat and shoulders. Omega burrowed back against him contentedly.

“Mmm, nice and warm. The fire on one side, you on the other. Who knew you’d end up being the ‘hot’ one. I’ve always run so hot,” _Jared_ grumped.

Wolf smiled and pinched at the flat discs of _Jared’s_ nipples, imagining their cubs suckling there. _Jared_ moaned and Wolf’s hand reached to cup his cock, stroking it until it began to fill in his hand. Wolf gave his own cock a few sharp tugs and rubbed up against his mate’s slick entrance.

 _Jared_ groaned and pushed back. “Fuck, want you inside me now.” Wolf smiled and obliged him. Mate grunted and tried to squirm in tighter as Wolf stoked leisurely in and out.

Wolf wrapped his arms around omega and pulled him back against his chest. Content for the moment simply to be lodged deep inside his mate. Then as _Jared_ warmed, his heat did too and soon he was rutting against Wolf in earnest.

“Fuck yeah. Ughh,” _Jared_ muttered. When Wolf’s knot caught, rubbing insistently against omega’s prostate, his mate whimpered and spilled sticky in Wolf’s hand. Riding the rippling contractions as his mate came, Wolf’s knot twitched and pulsed load after load inside his omega.

Sated and exhausted, Wolf grabbed his mate up in his arms, ignoring the tug on his trapped knot as he carried him to the bed and settled them both down.

Sealed together once more, _Jared_ soon tumbled off to sleep as the crackles from the fire filled the cave and Wolf’s knot pulsed again and again inside him. When it eventually softened, Wolf slipped into a deep sleep of his own.

The sharp stench of sweat and come filled his nostrils. He opened eyes gummy from sleep to take in the sight of miles of golden skin, sharply muscled arms and shoulders and a long muscular back.

Shaking off the last vestiges of sleep Jensen’s senses exploded with an overload of information.

He could literally taste the salt sweat on the man’s skin beside him, the hickory perfume of the wood stacked beside the fire and the sweet residue of fruit in the warm close air of the cave. Most of all though, Jensen smelled the overpowering musky scent of sex, on him, the man beside him, and on the furs where they lay together. It was like an orgy had gone off in the cave. What the hell had happened, and how long had he been here?

He sniffed his armpit and jerked back, overwhelmed by the ripe odor. He pushed himself up on one elbow and sniffed at the man… no at _Jared’s_ – skin. It was there too– too much sex, and sweat, and dirt. But there was something different about him, as well, something that should be there was now absent. Jensen didn’t know exactly what it was, it only tickled at the edges of his mind. It's absence made him sad.

It was more disturbing, though, to find himself waking up next to Jared, especially given the way Jensen had ended things. He must have got drunk or roofied, or something. The fact remained, he didn’t need entanglements like Jared in his life. He’d be moving on to the next case any day now.

He rubbed his eyes. He had been having the wildest dream about the two of them together, though, really primitive shit. Jensen yawned and stretched and started to roll over when he heard Jared’s muffled grunt of pain and experienced a simultaneous painful tug on his cock. He stopped immediately and glanced down at the source of the discomfort.

His frowned, then he relaxed into a wolfish grin as he looked down and saw his cock buried comfortably between the firm cheeks of Jared’s ass. Just looking at it disappearing between those pert mounds had Jensen’s cock twitching. Jared was still half asleep, sprawled naked alongside him. More careful this time, he gave an experimental pull. Something caught inside Jared’s rim, something of Jensen’s.

Jensen’s world tipped sideways as memory came flooding back. It hadn’t been a dream. Jensen squeezed his eyes tight in horror at the things he’d done.

He looked closer at Jared. In the flickering firelight, his skin was marked by dark smudges. Squinting in the low light, he saw the smudges were actually bruises, fingerprints and scratches littered Jared’s hips and legs. Marks left by Jensen’s hands.

His wolf brushed up against his mind and growled, preening in satisfaction. Jensen’s stomach threatened to heave.

The cave started to turn and Jensen stared up at the ceiling. His life was melting around him. Everything he’d worked for going up in flames as he watched the slow steady rise and fall of Jared’s chest as he slept.

His heart was beating like a drum in his chest. He closed his eyes and forced himself to lie back down and count backwards from a hundred. His mind was whirling a mile a minute, and. e continued to count until his breathing calmed. He hadn’t been this close to a full on panic attack since he was a child.

As settled as he could be, under the circumstances, he expelled a ragged breath. He couldn’t afford these kinds of theatrics; he needed to think about his situation, what he was going to do next. Like it or not, this wasn’t simply a bad dream, Jared had turned him. Jensen was a were.

By the time Jensen’s swollen knot had deflated enough to slip loose, Jared was starting to wake. He pulled back and Jensen's dick slipped free with a wet, sucking sound over the new hard ring of his knot. Jensen swallowed repeatedly to keep from spewing all over the cave. He stood, and backed away from the bed toward the dwindling firelight. He felt it then, different, alien flesh swung between his legs; his stride suddenly off kilter. Trembling, his fingers ran down his sides and, taking a deep breath he looked down at his cock. Curious he cupped himself in one hand and peered down to inspect. The newly formed knot was a ring of tough flesh circling the base of his cock. It was spongy now but Jensen could well imagine it engorged with blood, and inflated inside a lover, trapping him in place.

Any hopes of a misdiagnosis went out the window upon seeing his knot, irrefutable evidence of his change. His hand stroked down the rest of his cock. Everything else at least seemed the same, same size and length, still the same helmeted head.

Exhaling shakily, he rubbed his hands across his face and noticed that the scars from the fire that had covered his palms and forearms since he was a child were gone. Wonderingly, Jensen turned his hands, looking at his arms, they were smooth and clear, dotted only by a light spray of freckles; the shiny, ridged flesh was gone.

Eyes wide with wonder, he continued his exploration, his hand going immediately to the back of his calf to touch the infected claw marks. He felt the area, then turned, angling his leg toward the dim light of the fire. There was no sign of a wound, no mark, no raked, furrowed flesh. His leg was completely healed. All signs of fever or blood poisoning – gone. And, bending down further to run his fingers over the soles of his feet, his eyebrows shot up when he saw the burn marks there were gone now, as well.

Remembering the horror of Pellegrino’s punishing claws, his hand flew to his face. There was no way those wounds wouldn’t scar permanently. Trembling, Jensen’s fingers ghosted over his face, touching where Pellegrino had ripped jagged gouges into his skin. He remembered the corner of his lips torn and bleeding, but his searching fingers feathering carefully over his cheeks and mouth, found nothing!

In stunned disbelief he continued to examine the rest of his body, running his palms along his arms and chest. When his hand brushed over his forearm a disturbing ripple ran through the skin. It was like fur brushing up against him from the inside, incredibly soft, but startling. Gasping softly in surprise, Jensen pulled back his hand.

“It’s like that at first.” Jared’s low voice didn’t startle him. Jensen realized he had heard Jared’s breathing change, his heart rate increase, his hearing now incredibly acute. He turned to see Jared swing his legs to the ground. The man winced as he shifted to sitting, Jensen could only imagine how sore he must be even with his were healing abilities, after the many rounds he remembered them going.

“Like what?” Jensen’s voice was harsh to his own ears, gruff from lack of use. Wolf had needed no speech.

“When your wolf spirit first comes to you, you can feel it, moving inside you. It gets better after you shift for the first time. But at first, it’s like it’s getting comfortable in your skin. It’ll pass.”

Jensen nodded woodenly. He wasn’t sure he understood, but he didn’t want to talk about it. He had other things on his mind.

“Will it come back? Take over again?”

“What, like the last few days? No. I’ve never heard of a wolf spirit taking over quite so strongly before, but then, you’re human born. With no preparation of what was going to happen, you had no defense.” Jared sighed and ran his hand through his shaggy hair. “Wolves are territorial and very protective of their mates. With you freshly turned and my heat triggered, it was your wolf’s only way to make sure I was kept safe. It didn’t know you yet, didn’t trust you, so it shoved you aside and took over to protect its mate.”

Jared stood and stretched carefully. He walked over and gathered up some firewood, carefully avoiding looking at Jensen as he continued. “My next heat won’t come for another three or four months, more than enough time to shift and get to know your wolf spirit. Once he meets you, I don’t think we’ll see him back like that again.”

Jared placed a few logs down and settled in a crouch before the fire. After stirring the flames back to life, he glanced up at Jensen, not meeting his eyes, angling his gaze somewhere in the vicinity of Jensen’s lips. Jensen wanted to deny it but he was strangely hurt, yet ridiculously pleased by Jared’s actions. Jensen shook his head he needed to look into those expressive eyes. Something was off kilter, not right.

“Why aren’t you looking at me, then?”

Jared stayed stock still for a moment then shook his head, unconsciously baring his neck submissively to Jensen before hurriedly glancing up.

“Sorry, I guess I was giving you time to adjust…to the change.” Jared whispered.

Jensen strode over to the fire and grasped Jared’s shoulders. A burning sensation blazed through his fingers where he touched the man, and he yanked his hands back in surprise. “What the hell?”

“Mating bond.” Jared winced, jerking back from Jensen. “It’s still forming. We’ll be like this for the next little while, until the bond settles. It’ll be okay, don’t worry.” Jared’s hand rubbed over Jensen’s. “Hey, now that you aren’t all wolfed out, I bet you’re cold. Morgan left us clothes, we can hike out back to the settlement once the sun rises.”

Jensen lifted his head and realized that he somehow knew the sun hadn’t risen yet either. He seemed hyperaware of everything around him. He rubbed his arms, he was growing cold. He couldn't remember being cold the last few days, Wolf had kept him warm. “I remember the last few days, mating you, but it’s like a dream. Is it true, did I do all that? I-I think I hurt you.”

A blush started to pinken Jared’s cheeks and he ducked his head down mumbling, “I was in heat Jensen, my first heat. It was a bit painful the first time, but I wanted everything that happened. I’ll definitely live.” Jared shrugged and started to dig around in the knapsack by the bed. He tossed Jensen a few articles of clothing. “Here, try these. You still have your boots there in the corner.”

Jensen accepted the clothing gratefully. He shouldered into a grey Henley that seemed about the right size. He almost laughed when he put on boxer briefs for the first time in days, but bit it back, knowing it would come out more hysterical than funny. He didn’t need Jared worrying about his sanity, as well as everything else.

Morgan had also provided a fresh pair of jeans, and Jensen gratefully pulled them on. His black hunter jeans were blood covered, dirty, and shredded beyond repair. As ready as he would ever be, Jensen laced on his boots and stood.

Jared was already dressed in a t-shirt and jeans. From the perfect fit, Jensen guessed Morgan must have gone to Jared’s apartment for them. His own clothing looked like it might be Morgan’s. Jared passed Jensen a winter jacket and pulled on his own.

While Jensen shrugged on the jacket Jared tidied the cave and dug out a plastic bag. “Jerky?” Jared proffered a few sticks of the tough meat. “It should last us until we’re back home, then we can get something warm to eat.”

Jensen took the offered meat, carefully avoiding Jared’s fingertips.

“I’ll meet you outside.” Jared nodded for Jensen to go ahead and after dousing the fire, followed him down the dark passageway.

The cave plunged into darkness, but Jensen’s new wolf vision made it easy for him to see his way out to the falls. Reaching the curtain of water sheltering the entrance, Jensen halted and breathed in deeply. The air smelled unbelievably fresh and alive. Jensen’s nose wrinkled in pleasure as he took a sip from the curtain of water. It had never tasted so good.

Jared joined him, and Jensen was suddenly flustered when he remembered how he had forced Jared to drink the last few days. An embarrassed flush covered Jared’s face as he realized the same thing. Looking the other way, Jared cupped some water in his hands and drank.

Jensen watched, fascinated as Jared’s throat rippled and a few stray water droplets trickled down his neck. Jensen licked his lips, a grin spreading across his face; even outside, competing with all the other wonderful smells in the air, Jared’s scent drew him in. Unbidden a low rumble started in the back of Jensen’s throat.

Jared’s eyes went wide and flustered; he hastily filled the canteen Morgan had left for them. All business, he led the way out from the falls, showing Jensen the handholds to make it safely across to land.

On the bank, Jensen was surprised to find he knew exactly where he was and where the Iron Ridge Pass settlement was, his wolf senses filling in a detailed map of the area that Jensen had previously been oblivious to.

Jared led the way, and they walked along in silence. At first it was awkward, Jared self-conscious and Jensen embarrassed at his actions the last few days. Then it gradually changed and Jensen just found it lonely walking quietly beside the man. Used to solitude and spending hours by himself, Jensen was surprised to find the new wolf part of him craved contact; something as simple as knocking shoulders with Jared or touching his hand. The lack started to wear on him.

Half an hour or so later, they stopped for a rest and some water. Jared sat on a large sunny stone, his face upturned toward the sun. Jensen unconsciously took up a protective stance, pacing around him, his mind busy and bursting with questions.

“So, how did you know it would work?”

Jared didn’t look over, didn’t react to the question at all, he just continued to bask in the sun. Jensen thought maybe Jared might simply ignore him entirely, then Jared started to speak.

“My mother was the historian for the pack for many years. She kept the records, and when we were growing up, she would tell us these interesting tales, some of them pretty tall,” Jared smiled wanly. “Anyway, lots of stories about our ancestors. One of them was about Tane Bloodborne, an omega who looked for a suitable mate inside his pack for many years and had found none. He had resigned himself to a life alone, but then one day he spied a human in the woods, and right away, he knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt that that this was his mate. He kidnapped the man – Joxum, and mated him.”

Jared grabbed up a piece of grass and started to chew on it, the look on his face growing soft and far away. “When the pack found out what he had done, they were appalled by Tane’s actions. The Bloodborne pack had always been careful to live in peace with the humans. When Tane brought Joxum home to introduce him to the pack, they all assumed the human would be an omega, like all rest of the humans who had ever been turned and mated, but Tane introduced Joxum as an alpha. The moon goddess had known exactly what Tane needed, and had brought him an alpha. As his new mate found his way in the pack, it was rumored that Joxum was one of the strongest, fiercest warriors the pack had ever seen. Some whispered it was because an omega had turned him. None had seen his like in generations.”

Jared looked down at his hands, “I think that's why my mom told me this story in particular, and it stuck with me so strongly. It was around the time I should have popped my knot. The idea of an omega having the power to create the strongest of all alphas was kind of something to cling to. Especially when my dad started treating me like crap. Earl was always good though. He was more like my mom, and encouraged me to do what I wanted and forget about Dad.”

“So what happened to our heroes?” Jensen smiled; more than a little saddened by the way Jared’s dad had treated him.

“Well, the story goes that Tane and Joxum lived together for more than thirty years, bringing wealth and prosperity to the Bloodborne Pack until Joxum died in a hunting accident. The Iron Ridge Pack is just one of their many descendants.”

Jared blinked and looked over at Jensen, a sheepish smile on his face. “I know it wasn’t much to go on, but with omegas only making up about five percent of the population, almost all the turned humans throughout history that we know of were turned by alphas. There haven’t been that many times an omega has had the opportunity or the desire to turn a human. I decided to try. Besides, if one of those alphas had mated you, I couldn’t see you living long as an omega. And there’s always the off chance I turned you into a were superhero.”

Jensen stood there looking at Jared, not only had the man saved his life but he'd saved him from what Jensen thought of as a fate worse than death. “So you knew I’d turn out an alpha to your omega?”

Jared’s voice was soft, but it carried in the quiet of the forest. “I hoped that was how things would turn out. Tane and Joxum, they were an old folk tale, though, so I didn’t know for sure.”

“But you went ahead anyway, to try and save me?”

Jared nodded and hastily looked away.

“I don’t understand, you’ve gone so long without mating. Why now? Why me, especially?”

“I’d always been a disappointment to my father. He was sure with my height I’d pop a knot and continue the long line of alphas in his family. But things didn’t work out that way. He resented me, thought I was weak. He wanted to marry me off as quickly as possible to the first alpha to show any interest…Pellegrino. I rebelled. I didn’t want to mate Pellegrino just so my father could get rid of me. And short of Alpha Goodall’s direct order, I couldn’t be forced to join the mating hunt, so I stayed single.”

“Why would you do this then? Chain yourself to me?”

Jared swallowed, his eyes took on a far away look, “Things were good growing up when Alpha Goodall ran the pack, and it was he who gave me permission to go to culinary school in California. My father died within the first six months I was out there, my mom soon after. I miss her, but dad….”

Jared shook his head sadly then smiled. “Goodall though, came all the way from Montana for my graduation from culinary school.” Jared grinned. “He’s the reason I came back to Munter’s Gorge and set up shop. He was so proud of me, and it wasn’t only because he was pack alpha. He was more of a father to me than mine ever was.”

Jared sighed, “Goodall passed away only a year ago. Heart attack. It happened so fast I wasn’t able to get back to the pass in time to see him. That’s when Pellegrino was made pack alpha, and he caused a schism in the pack. He didn’t believe in a lot of the more modern practices, he went by the old ways. It was only a matter of time until he ordered me to mate him. Once he’d gotten comfortable with his new job, he took a steady bead on me. It was either you or someone like Pellegrino, and frankly, I think I have a better chance of living the life I want with you than with a natural born who goes by the old ways. Morgan and Kim have been trying to protect me, but even some modern packs tend to like to keep their omegas naked, barefoot and in the kitchen. I’ll take the kitchen okay, but I’m not up for the rest of it…. Not yet, anyway.”

Jared looked over at Jensen, his expression grim, “Besides, this is bigger than me, it’s bigger than my father, it’s about the future of our pack. You were, and still could be, a danger to my pack, Jensen, to their freedom, everything I love. Mating you was the one thing I could do to prevent our being discovered by the outside world, and keep you alive. As an omega, I think you would have taken your own life in the first days, which would have caused even more trouble and brought more marshals nosing around.”

Jensen nodded jerkily. When the mating hunt began he had already decided that if he couldn’t manage to escape and was taken, he’d take his life the first chance he got.

“How did you manage to resist Pellegrino then? During the fight, I’m sure I heard him use the Alpha voice on you. I thought omegas couldn’t disobey that voice.”

Jared tipped his head and looked over at Jensen thoughtfully. “Well normally we can’t. I couldn’t, not in person, which was why I stayed in town so much, it was easier to defy him. But I think maybe after we made love, that somehow we joined then, just enough for my wolf to recognize you as my alpha, not Pellegrino, even though he was the pack Alpha. It gave me enough of an edge anyway.”

Jared and threw away the piece of grass he’d been nibbling on and looked Jensen in the eye. “You can make a good life for yourself here, Jensen. If you exclude Pellegrino’s goons, the pack is made up of mostly decent, hardworking people. Especially now, since Morgan is in line to be our next alpha. He’s a modernist, and will bring us back to where we used to be.”

Jensen couldn’t help the snort of derision he made when Jared extoled the virtues of his people. These self same weres the same ones that only days earlier beat and raped him and burnt his home to the ground. Preoccupied, Jensen kept to himself the rest of the hike back to the compound.

Jared had confirmed a lot of what Jensen already knew about pack dynamics, but Jared had held back when he had talked about the mating. There was another aspect Jensen was sure he was perfectly aware of. If Jensen rejected Jared, decided to walk away, leave his mate, Jared could die. Alphas could survive the separation from a mate, but omegas couldn’t, not for long, at least. Not unless they were able to mate again, or were old enough to have gone into menopause, otherwise their heats would burn their bodies out. Jared would be lucky if he lasted a year on his own without Jensen. Jensen shuddered. Not only was he now tied to a race he loathed and despised, if he walked away, Jared’s life was forfeit.

 Comments always appreciated ^^


	10. Nobody's bitch

 

 

 

Entering the compound, Jared and Jensen were soon surrounded by dozens of weres slapping Jared on the back and sniffing at Jensen in awe and trepidation. Jared reached to take Jensen’s hand, and warm, welcoming sparks tickled his skin as they touched. Jensen forced himself to pull away. He might have been forced into this mating, but that didn’t mean he had to like it.

“Morgan’s home is over there.” Jared pointed toward the two-story farm house off on the edge of the cluster of homes. “With Pellegrino gone he’ll be acting pack alpha, at least until he can officially take over. We need to report in to him.”

Jensen nodded curtly and clenched his hands into tightly curled fists. He kept his gaze pinned on the house, studiously ignoring the curious onlookers as they threaded their way through crowd. He inhaled raggedly and tried not to choke on the disparate scents and sounds of the gathered weres. He was a hairsbreadth from a panic attack as input from his new fledgling senses threatened to overwhelm him.

A woman cried out and shouts were heard as someone shoved their way through the gathered weres. A blur of motion was his only warning before Jensen was tackled to the ground. A familiar scent filled his nose and Jensen snarled in loathing as he gazed into the face of his rapist. Foldbrook. Jensen remembered the name from what seemed like a lifetime ago. Foldbrook’s fists were already flying, managing to land a few solid punches before Jensen could shove the wildly flailing alpha off him.

“You bitch, you killed him, you worthless sack of flesh!” Foldbrook snarled as his knuckles caught the side of Jensen’s jaw. Several women in the crowd screamed, and backed away, pulling their children out of harm’s way.

Growling through a growing red haze, Jensen lunged and rolled to his feet, his strength and speed surprising even himself. He spat a mouthful of blood at Foldbrook’s feet and without hesitation, slammed his fist into the alpha’s gut.

With a sharp grunt, Foldbrook staggered back with a sharp grunt, his eyes wide with surprise that Jensen wasn’t the easy prey he’d been in the shed, just days ago. Jensen’s lips curled in a sneer, Foldbrook wasn’t dealing with a human anymore or, for that matter, anyone’s omega.

Foldbrook inhaled sharply, his nose wrinkling in surprise. His eyebrows shot up. “But you’re supposed to be…” the man cast around wildly, his gaze finally settling upon Jared in confusion before a sharp swing to the jaw from Jensen brought his attention back to the fight.

“No bitch of yours,” Jensen said calmly. “Focus on me, Foldbrook, I’m the one you should be worried about.”

Shaking his head in disbelief, Foldbrook dropped to a crouch and the two alphas began to circle each other. The crowd backed farther away when they realized this wasn’t going to be the quick takedown they’d first expected.

“Don’t make me hurt you, Foldbrook.”

Foldbrook snorted in derision. “Like I’m scared of some newly turned cub, alpha or not.”

“Maybe you should be.” Jensen’s grin was bloody and Foldbrook’s gaze widened as Jensen leapt at him, delivering a series of punches to Foldbrook’s face and stomach before the man even knew what hit him.

Emotions he hadn't even realized he had suppressed flooded to the surface and Jensen's lips peeled back in a bloody smile. The ugly, sick feeling of helplessness and fear he hadn't allowed himself to acknowledge vibrated through him every time his fist contacted with the were's body, the force of each blow jarring up his arms. Even as his knuckles grew bloody and sore, Jensen knew no matter how hard he lashed out, nothing would ever erase that moment in time, when all the walls and defenses he had put up over the years to keep himself safe would never been enough to protect him, in the end.

Soon Foldbrook was sprawled, on the ground, bruised and battered, barely conscious, Six years as the hunter’s divisional boxing champion, paired with were strength and endurance made short work of the job. Barely winded but still quivering with rage, Jensen stared down at his attacker.

Jensen’s wolf howled for blood and it took everything Jensen had not to pounce on his downed prey and rip out his throat, revenge himself for the violation, the indignities this man had visited on him.

When the beaten were tried to raise himself off the ground, elation soared through Jensen’s wolf as it licked its chops, savoring the chance of a resumed confrontation. Jensen’s foot landed on the back of the man's neck, grinding his face into the dirt. He ground his teeth, his brow furrowed in concentration as he fought to keep his wolf under control. Fangs began to lengthen in his mouth. “Stay.” Jensen growled.

Foldbrook’s arm trembled in effort, then dropped weakly to the ground.

The sudden silence revealed a second muted scuffle in progress nearby. Jensen whirled in time to see Winters, his second rapist, and another were, manhandling Jared to his knees. Jensen’s already tenuous control snapped and animalistic rage poured through him. It was one thing to attack him, another to dare touch what was his.

“Enough.” Jensen roared, and the air trembled around him. The weres as a group froze as Jensen’s Alpha voice reverberated through the air. Jensen barely noticed the claws that split their way through the ends of his fingers as he stalked towards the men holding Jared. His mate was struggling gamely, but he was no match for the two alphas’ combined strength.

With an ease he might have otherwise found frightening, Jensen backhanded the first alpha and sent him flying. He turned to the remaining one, Winters, and wasted no time springing toward him. Jensen’s clawed hands caught the alpha by the throat; weight bearing them both to the ground as Jensen started to squeeze.

Jensen found himself crouched with one knee on the stunned alpha’s chest, watching him turn a curious shade of red. Jensen’s lip curled and a low satisfied snarl filled the air as he slowly, methodically crushed the were’s windpipe. Winters’ eyes began to bulge, his hands dug frantically at Jensen’s forearms as Jensen’s fingers continued to tighten. Jensen’s wolf howled in heady satisfaction when Winter’s scrabbling hands fell away and the light in his eyes began to dim.

“Alpha, Jensen, please…. You’re killing him.”

Jensen’s shoulder was shaken, a low calm voice pleaded with him.

His head jerked involuntarily toward the sound of that voice and the red haze receded, and he found find himself staring into a pair of anguished green-blue eyes.

At Jensen's expression, Jared flinched away, sprawling back on his ass. Gathering his wits again, Jared rose to his knees and looked at his mate beseechingly, “They’re not worth it, Alpha. Please. You’re not a murderer. Spare them.”

Jensen blinked in surprise and his wolf rumbled in irritation. He tried to shrug off his mate’s touch, but Jared kept returning, a continuous onslaught of soothing babble flowing from his mouth. Jensen wrinkled his nose in disgruntlement as he felt his fury waning.

Remembering his victim, Jensen looked down at Winters. A cruel smile spread across his face when he realized the other alpha had soiled himself. Jensen pressed down a little tighter and leaned in, his voice dropping in register as he whispered, “Get out of my sight.”

Winters struggled to nod.

Jensen considered the squirming, gasping alpha for a moment, enjoying the fear radiating off the man, before he finally let his claws retract, releasing him.

Standing, Jensen took his omega’s hand and helped him to his feet. His body jerked against the renewed zing of pleasure that touching Jared sent straight to his cock. It confused Jensen, this power his mate suddenly had over him. He pulled Jared to his feet and helped straighten his clothes. “Did they hurt you?” Jensen growled, and Jared shook his head.

“No, Alpha. I’m fine.”

“No one touches what is mine.” Jensen rumbled, his hand tightening on Jared’s until the man winced.

Frowning in apology, Jensen loosened his hold on his mate, but didn't release him. He moved to stand protectively in front of Jared as he glared at the remaining crowd of weres surrounding them, unsure what might happen next.

“What the hell’s going on here? That’s no way to welcome a newly mated couple into the pack.” An alpha voice growled.

Morgan, only just arrived, stood at the edge of the crowd glowering at Winters and Foldbrook as they helped the third member of their group to stand. “I don’t know what this is about, but you can bet I’ll get to the bottom of it. Now, get your asses over to the docs and get patched up. Then wait for me in meeting house! Henry, Jed, Frazer, you watch them and make sure they get there. The rest of you,” his gaze swept the gathered crowd, “go on about to your business.” The three alphas Morgan had named came forward in the crowd, and nodded at Morgan before dispassionately circling the three wounded Alphas to herd them, limping, toward the settlement doctor's office..

“Jensen, Jared.” Morgan put a hand on Jensen's arm and gave it a friendly shake. Jensen tensed infinitesimally when Morgan turned, but he only nodded at Jared with a warm look on his face, and didn’t touch Jensen's mate. Jensen relaxed, and exhaled a confused breath. He glanced at Morgan, perplexed at his reaction. He didn't think he was mistaken at the glint of humor in Morgan’s eye, but then it dimmed suddenly as Morgan’s gaze swept over them, carefully cataloguing the new cuts and bruises they both wore. “This is not quite the reception I’d have hoped for. Please, come back to the house.” The remaining Iron Ridge pack members fanned out to clear a wide path.

Jeff nodded, and some instinct had Jensen bowing his head to the senior alpha.

Morgan nodded back, and Jensen basked in the approval coming from the older man, tangible as a touch.

They followed Morgan to the tidy red farmhouse Jared had pointed out at the edge of the settlement. As they walked, Morgan turned to Jensen, a sober look on his face. “Do I want to know what that was about?”

Jensen side-eyed the alpha, “Only if you don’t approve of rapists in your pack.” Morgan’s pace slowed, and he regarded Jensen in concern.

“Pellegrino set two of those men on me while I was held prisoner before the mating run," Jensen told him. I guess he wanted to break me in a little before the main event. I don’t suppose it makes too much difference to you, what with the kidnapping and forced mating and all. What’s a little rape thrown into the mix?”

Morgan visibly winced. “Rape is still rape in the were world, too, Marshal, though it normally doesn’t happen as often as in the human one. I didn’t know, but I guess I should have.” Morgan shook his head wearily. “Those were Mark’s boys. That’s no excuse, I know. I just didn’t realize the depths that Mark had sunk to. As the new pack Alpha, I gotta own that mistake. I allowed him to stay alpha by not standing up to him. I was going to challenge him in the next council meeting, but that’s cold comfort to you, I’m sure. What I can say is they will be dealt with, and you will be invited to witness their punishment. In my world, and in my pack, kidnapping and rape are not acceptable, either.”

Sincerity rolled off the older alpha and Jensen had no doubt the man meant exactly what he said. He nodded, willing to let it drop for now. Worst case, he could hunt them down and kill them himself under his Marshal’s jurisdiction. Jensen’s chest tightened at the realization that he wouldn’t hold that power for long; his career as a Marshal was coming to a quick close. Yet another thing, in a long list of them taken from him by weres.

A tentative hand fluttered nervously on Jensen’s shoulder and he glanced at Jared. His mate’s mouth was hanging open, staring at Jensen, his hurt puppy dog eyes wide with shock. Jensen shook his head and grimaced. He'd forgotten that Jared had known nothing of what had happened in the shed. He snarled softly, he didn’t want to get into this with Jared right now or maybe ever.

Misunderstanding Jensen’s reaction, Jared flinched, a mournful look on his face and he snatched his hand back as though scalded. Jensen cursed and grabbed Jared’s hand before he could pull it in next to his chest and tugged it back down so they could walk hand in hand, squeezing it reassuringly as they resumed walking. Jensen was grateful when Jared didn’t try to start up a discussion, and the trio managed the rest of the walk in companionable silence.

Jensen blew out a relieved breath when they finally reached the little farmhouse, and were met on the front porch by a petite brunette in her forties.

Morgan had also been lost in thought, now he suddenly perked up. “Jensen I’d like you to meet my mate, Kim Rhodes. I have to warn you, she’s also Taylor’s aunt, and she’s not too happy with you at the moment.”

“Jensen.” Kim shook his hand, a stern look of disapproval on her face. “Taylor and Felicia are practically the daughters I never had. I’ve raised them from cubs since their mother and father’s death, and Jeff’s got it right, I’m less than thrilled you’ve got Taylor locked up in one of your silver lined prisons, and bound for the rez. You may be pack now, but you damn well better fix this, or I’ll have to have my mate here tear you a new one.”

Jensen’s eyebrows rose as he was called out by the hundred and twenty pound spitfire. Jared looked away, not before Jensen caught a glimpse of an amused smile on his face.

“Jared, my boy.” Kim ran her hand down Jared’s arm, rubbing it affectionately. “Good to see you. Let’s get you boys in and cleaned up. You look like hell and smell worse, the both of you.”

Jensen hung back, watching as Kim took Jared’s arm and pulled him inside the house. Jensen’s brow furrowed in surprise. Somehow Kim touching Jared didn’t set his wolf’s teeth on edge like the alphas’ touch. Was it because she was a woman?

Watching his reaction, Morgan grinned in amusement and supplied, “She’s a beta, son. No threat to you. It’s other alphas that will raise the hairs on the back of your neck if they touch your mate, but I’d still be petrified of her if I were you. She means every word.” Morgan looked at him sheepishly, his hands stuck deep into the pockets of his jeans. Jensen cocked an eyebrow at Morgan, and he shrugged. “I’m alpha enough to admit, I’m scared of her, and we’ve been together for almost fifteen years, now.”

Jensen couldn’t help the quick grin that spread across his face.

Once inside, Kim, showed both of them to the bathroom to clean up their wounds.

Alone together, Jared grabbed Jensen’s wrist and turned his hand over, palm up. Jared ran his fingers questioningly over Jensen’s fingertips. “Jensen, was that you or Wolf?” Jared sniffed the air, in an attempt to detect a difference in Jensen’s scent.

“No, it’s me– well, mostly me. He didn’t come back or at least nothing like before. That was all on me.”

Jared stared at him wide-eyed. “You’re not supposed to be able to shift until the new moon.”

Jensen smirked. “I guess no one told my wolf that.”

Jared hand waved his response aside a grave expression on his face. “Jensen, you have to believe me, I didn’t know. I didn’t realize Mark had set them on you. That’s not the Pack way, not the pack I grew up in, anyway. Pellegrino was sick.”

Shaking his head in disbelief, Jared directed Jensen to the toilet, lowering the lid so he could sit. With a clean washcloth, he carefully washed the blood off Jensen’s face.

With the worst of the dirt and sweat gone from Jensen’s face, Jared started to clean his own. Jensen rose and stood beside him in front of the mirror. He watched their reflection in fascination as the bruises and cuts from their recent dustup with the alphas faded before his eyes.

“Is it like this every time? The healing?” Jensen touched his face in disbelief.

“Yeah, normally little stuff like this is no big deal, but I’ve never seen anything like your initial healing when I turned you. To remove old scars like that is almost unheard of. The wounds Pellegrino inflicted alone were pretty extreme even for us to repair. I think you’ve turned into an especially powerful alpha, Jensen. Normal cuts, bruises, even minor breaks, yes we’re capable of healing it all during a shift, unless you’re ill, or there’s silver involved.”

Jensen nodded. He’d seen first hand what silver could do.

Back in the kitchen Kim already had coffee set out for them. Morgan gestured toward the two empty chairs at the table. When Jared sat down beside him, Jensen’s spine stiffened, his heartbeat quickening, as a loud rumble started in his chest. Jared flinched.

“Do you – do you want me at your feet, Alpha?” Jared whispered, bowing his head as an embarrassed blush crawled over his cheeks.

Jensen’s wolf growled in approval, but Jensen shoved his wolf’s outrageous reaction down and shook himself, “No, sorry, no, sit.”

“It’ll be like that for a while.” Morgan gestured toward Jared. “You’ll feel a sense of possession, ownership of your mate that you would never have experienced as a human. Our instincts might be hardwired, but we’re not living in the past. Omegas are treated as equals here. You’ll have to learn to control your reactions as you did just now.”

Jensen swallowed and licked his lips, his body still thrumming from his wolf’s insistent demands. “Will it go away?”

“No, not completely, but you will be better able to manage it. You’re an alpha, and a strong one at that. You’re going to have to be careful from now on, of both your strength and your wolf’s, as you find your place in the community.”

“And what place is that?” Jensen sneered. “I’m a hunter, it’s what I do. What if I turn the whole lot of you in? Then what?”

Kim dropped the kettle noisily back onto the stove and Morgan reached for her, looping his arm securely around her waist and pulling her close. Jensen watched as Kim visibly calmed at Jeff’s touch. Morgan leaned up and kissed her, whispering something in her ear that even Jensen’s new were hearing couldn’t pick up. Kim smiled and patted her hand fondly on his arm before leaving the room. His mate's temper soothed, Morgan looked at Jensen calmly, as he combed his fingers through his beard.

“Well then, son, you better be prepared to be locked away with two hundred of your worst enemies, because that’s where all of us would end up, at the rez. Together. For the rest of our miserable lives, and it would be miserable there. You think your Hunter Division buddies want you back, now that you’re one of us? Think again, sweetheart.”

“At least I’d be getting rapists and thugs off the streets and away from the defenseless humans of this town.” Jensen replied hotly.

Morgan’s eyebrows shot up and he gave him a exasperated look. “You got to believe me when I say they will be brought to justice, that that is not the way our pack operates, there will be a full investigation.”

Morgan's grimace turned into a lopsided smile. “And son, there hasn’t been a defenseless human in Munter’s Gorge for over a hundred years, and if you give us a chance you’ll see that for yourself. Hell, the whole town knows about us, half of them are related to someone in the Iron Ridge pack in some way. We’ve intermarried and gone to school and grown up with these folks all our lives. They wouldn’t thank you for ripping our little community apart. If you want to see some true injustice, I suggest you drive on out to the rez before you make any final decisions.”

Morgan pushed his coffee toward the center of the table and leaned back in his chair, his meaning clear. Meeting over.

“So, what? I’m free to go?” Jensen’s hand tightened around his untouched coffee.

“Go on ahead. Your truck's out front. Oh and here.” Morgan grabbed a large black duffel bag at the foot of his chair and set it on the table. “While I think of it. I wanted to give you the stuff you were wearing the night Mark and his men nabbed you. Your wallet, badge, guns and ammo are all in there. Mind the grip now, the embedded silver’s a bitch to touch.”

Jensen gazed at the bag blankly. He’d forgotten all about his weapons. Shit. Morgan had just saved him from filing a report… then Jensen remembered that was the least of his worries these days. He chewed at his bottom lip as he hefted the bag in his hand.

“I got you booked in at the Falls Motor Inn at the edge of town. I sent the boys to salvage what they could from the cabin and store it in your room. I gotta warn you though, after the fire there wasn’t much left. You’ll be needing the keys to your truck, it’s parked behind the house.” Morgan tossed the keys to him across the table. “Only, take my advice and cool down some before you do anything you’ll regret. We’ll talk again later. I’ll let you know when our investigation into Winters and Foldbrook and any other of Pellegrino’s flunkies activities is concluded.”

Jensen snatched the Rover’s keys out of the air and stared at them. He wheeled around, the room suddenly too small and too full of weres. The reality of being forced to be part of a community he despised was suddenly too much for him. He almost groaned as he remembered his mate sitting there at the table. He gazed at Jared and swallowed, suddenly torn between the desire to put some distance between him and the whole were enclave and the hardwired instinct to do right by his mate.

Jensen breathed out a ragged, relieved breath when almost imperceptibly, Jared nodded his head. Jensen’s whole body relaxed and he closed his eyes in gratitude of his mate’s understanding. Gripping the keys in his hand more tightly he opened his eyes and strode toward the door.

As the screen door banged closed behind him his new were hearing picked up Jared saying, “Do you think he’ll even listen?”

“For all our sakes, son, I hope to hell he does.”

With his cabin a smoldering ruin, Jensen had no choice but to follow Morgan’s advice and check into the only motel in town. Jensen prowled around the small, cheaply furnished room like a caged cat…or, his brows drew together in anger, a caged wolf. He didn’t know what to do with himself. The idea of being tied in Munter’s Gorge, to the pack, sickened him.

Morgan was right, though. If he turned them in, he condemned them all, himself included, to life on the rez. But wasn’t that what he had been doing all his life? It was a better place for them, him… why was he even questioning this? And what about the danger he would pose, himself, come the full moon? He remembered the feel of Winters’ neck beneath his claws, his wolf urging him to snap it, make a clean kill. And there was the responsibility of his omega, of Jared. Whatever Jensen did directly affected the man.

Jensen scrubbed a hand over his face. The chemical stench of the carpet freshener, overlaid with the scent of human come on the sheets and walls sickened him. How had he lived like this, so oblivious to the reek surrounding him?

Jensen opened the sliders on the window facing the parking lot in an attempt to air the place out. The stink of spilt gas and diesel was marginally better, at least it masked some of the worst odors. But all too soon he was pacing back and forth again like a caged beast. Too late in the day to do anything productive, and too early in the night to sit here and stew, he couldn’t take staying in the room a moment longer. He needed a beer.

Pocketing his wallet in his borrowed jeans, Jensen grabbed up his keys and coat and jumped into his truck. He headed off for the first bar he could think of – Kane’s. He’d bury his sorrows in a few beers tonight, and sort things out in the morning.

Walking into the bar, Jensen realized that he didn’t even know what day it was, or how long his captivity or the fugue with his wolf had lasted. The chalkboard sign at the door advertising Sunday Slammers gave him his first clue, and an abandoned newspaper at the bar confirmed it.

Kane’s Roadhouse was relatively quiet and with Jensen’s new wolf senses he was grateful for the respite. He knew without even looking around that more than half the patrons in the bar were weres. Walking up to the bar, weres he’d never even seen before stepped back from him, nodding respectfully as he passed. He ordered up a beer from the were bartender. The woman’s eyes glowed blue as she passed him his drink, her hand lingering on his. Her touch burned, and he jerked his hand away and retreated to a far corner of the room.

Both his were and marshal instincts had him claiming a seat in the corner; a booth with a good view of the room. Nursing his beer, he tried to think objectively about his situation but after a while gave up, his exhausted mind unable to even begin to tackle the enormity of the situation. He ended up simply staring at his beer bottle, picking at the label, glowering menacingly at anyone who got too close.

His shoulders tightened as he picked up a familiar scent. He looked up to see Christian Kane approaching him. A red patterned bandana on his head this night, dark blue jean shirt and molded-on jeans. Jensen inhaled again and was a little surprised to find Chris Kane was one hundred percent Grade-A human.

“Hey man, what are you doing here?” Chris asked companionably. “Mind if I join you? I’m on break.” Kane grinned and Jensen thought, what the hell and gestured toward the empty side of the booth.

Kane sat his beer down and slid into the booth. He looked around, “What? Lone wolf tonight? No Jared?”

Jensen’s eyes widened and he side-eyed Kane for a moment. Could the man possibly know? He inhaled discretely. Kane was indeed human and there was no scent of subterfuge as he looked at Jensen questioningly. Jensen smiled shakily, “Nah, just me on my own tonight.”

Thought of Jared made Jensen’s stomach twist in an unfamiliar way. He had simply left his omega alone at the compound without a second thought. Jensen shook his head, whose side was he on anyway? He never wanted to mate Jared. Why did he even care?

“You guys have a fight or something?” Christian’s bright blue eyes seemed to stare into Jensen’s soul. Jensen grimaced and continued picking at his beer label.

“Hey listen, it’s none of my business, son, but if you’re not going to accept Jared for what he is, for what he’s all about, it’s just as well you move on. I’ve only known him for a couple of years, since I moved to town and bought the roadhouse, but Jared’s a sweet guy and it seems like he’s been through a lot.” Chris’s expression darkened. “I don’t think I’m speaking out of turn when I tell you his dad was an asshole to him while he was alive. Jared needs someone who really loves him and can be there for him. If you can’t do that, you shouldn't string him along. You should just go.”

 _I tried_ , Jensen screamed silently.

Jensen gnawed on his lip. He wondered how much Chris really was privy to. Jensen knew he didn’t love Jared; he certainly didn’t want to be stuck with the man. _But you already are_ , Jensen’s conscious whispered. _He’s your mate and now he’s your responsibility_.

“I gotta say, I was kind of relieved to see you with him. That Pellegrino dude gave me the creeps, and he couldn’t seem to take no for an answer.”

Jensen snorted, “Well, I don’t think he’ll be a problem anymore.”

Chris’s eyes narrowed and he rose from the booth. “I gotta get back to work.” He turned to leave and then stopped, “You know, Jensen, I know something’s up with you two, and if you don’t want to tell me that’s okay, but do me a favor?”

Jensen looked up at Chris and nodded.

“Don’t fucking hurt him. I don’t want to have to kick your ass, marshal or not.”

In spite of the five or six beers Jensen drank while at the Roadhouse, he was sober as a judge as he drove back to the hotel. He knew weres metabolized food really quickly, but he hadn't made the same connection about alcohol. It made sense though. Stepping out of the truck in front of his little rented room, Jensen’s gaze roamed over the trees and hills surround the motel.

The forest was alive with life, in a way he previously never would have appreciated. The trees hummed with energy, as did all the small animals of the forest going about their business. There was a small family of rabbits over by the picnic tables, a lynx padding by the last cabin on his way to the river, and an owl catching its first mouse of the evening.

Jensen could hear, smell, and see so much more. The weird rippling ran under his skin and his wolf brushed up against him again and Jensen had the strangest urge to shed his clothes and run fast and hard though the deep woods.

Blinking, Jensen shook off that idea. Wolf had run him long enough. He had to learn to stand up to his new, other self.

Walking into his room was like walking into another world. Jensen’s salvaged files stank of smoke, and his reclaimed Hunter’s kit lay neatly stacked by the corner desk, open to air out. It was about the only thing they had been able to salvage from the cabin. Protected by the heavy aluminum carry cases they were stored in, his files might be a bit smoky and singed but they were still there. There were no clothes included in the bags of recovered items, so he imagined they were a write off. He’d have to pick up new stuff tomorrow.

He moved on to sort through the bag Morgan have given him and gratefully put his holster, gun still safely clipped inside back on. He had felt naked without his Taurus. He gazed at the riot vest and silver cuff, he’d had on that night and wondered if he'd even be able to use half of his hunter gear now. The typical hunter Taurus had a grip impregnated with silver, even the hunter gloves had silver embedded in the exterior, though the inside of the gloves were buttery soft to the touch. Experimentally, Jensen lifted one of his gloves. His hand tingled a little, but there wasn't the burning agony he’d seen weres exhibit at that much contact.

It was possible he had until the new moon and his first shift before he expressed the full range of were attributes. His fingers traced lightly over his Hunter Division Marshal badge he’d worked so hard to earn, the silver glinting in the moonlight coming in through the big picture window in his room. For now, he was living in twilight. The twilight of his career, and of his life, he thought grimly.

Stretching out on the sagging motel bed, Jensen sighed wearily. Tomorrow he’d have to call in to work and tell them a story. Question was, which one?

: : :

In the morning, he made himself a cup of the cheap instant with the little coffeemaker in his room. It tasted nothing like Jared’s custom blend. Pulling a face, he poured the vile mixture down the drain and went to shower and get dressed.

He rubbed his eyes, they burned, but not from hangover, more from exhaustion. He had slept fitfully. He laid the blame on his too soft mattress. It couldn’t possibly be the lack of a certain were’s long, lanky body beside him that was the cause. From old habit as he finished dressing, he grabbed up hs black Marshal gloves. His skin stung, like a low level burn as Jensen tugged them on, but he kept them on. His mouth tightened. For now, at least, he was still a Hunter. He’d wear the gloves until he wasn’t a hunter anymore.

Climbing in his truck, he set off towards the sheriff’s office. He didn’t even turn his head as he drove past The Wired Bean, he didn’t know how to deal with that situation yet, either. Some new wolf sense told him, though, that Jared had been at the window when he drove by, and that Jared had seen him. The scent of good coffee lingering in the truck's cab after he passed by, mocked him.

Logically, he knew why Jared had done what he had, but Jensen couldn’t get over the feelings of betrayal that lingered. Instead of dwelling, he concentrated on the job. He was still a hunter and he had at least one thing left to do before he could close his last case, and he’d damn well see it through.

Walking into the police station was another wakeup call. Over half of Beaver’s deputies and support staff were weres. Out of the corner of his eye, Jensen caught flashes of softly glowing eyes as the were officers and staff watched him warily.

Beaver was taking a call, but he ushered Jensen in as he was finishing up. He didn’t look surprised to suddenly see Jensen after his abrupt five day absence. His office smelled of Grecian formula, dusty papers, and worry. Jensen knew where the bottle of whiskey Beaver kept in his office was secretly stashed, and he could easily separate the recent mixture of human and were scents on the two visitor chairs.

Beaver looked tired.

“Marshal Ackles, come on in, take a seat.” Beaver waited until Jensen was settled before he leaned forward in his chair and directed two tired, watery blue eyes toward him. “Son, I want you to know I’ve been in contact with the Iron Ridge pack, I know what’s happened. Morgan filled me in.” Beaver grimaced and stood up from his chair pacing back and forth in front of the big picture window overlooking the little patch of lawn out in front of the station.

“I’m so sorry this happened. I had no idea Pellegrino would pull something like this, or I would have warned you. Since becoming Alpha, Pellegrino's been a little off, certainly a lot more territorial than the previous alpha, but I had hopes he’d settle down once he was in the top spot for a few years. I guess that was wishful thinking.” Beaver shrugged and turned to look at Jensen. “What I had hoped was that you’d come up dry on this wolf sighting, and be on your merry way, but instead, you ran into Ty, and things started to go sideways. With Ty’s death and Taylor’s capture, I figured we might still have a chance of getting out of this with a low body count. But it would mean having to sacrifice her and the boy.”

Jensen gave Beaver a hard look.

“What? You think I like this? Turning people I’ve known for years over to the rez? It ain’t pretty, son, but sometimes it’s what’s necessary in order for the community as a whole to survive.”

Beaver shook his head wearily and looked back out the window, “I just never thought he’d try and turn you. I can’t even begin to imagine what you’ve gone through, and being changed...” Beaver glanced back at him over his shoulder and sighed. “Frankly, that’s something I can’t quite wrap my brain around. I’m not here to excuse what Pellegrino did, I just wanted you to know, in spite of what you’ve gone through, I believe the Iron Ridge pack are, by and large, good people. We’ve gotten along here in peace, our two races, our folks intermingled with theirs, and up till now there hasn’t been any trouble since before my daddy was born. Hell, they employ half the town, one way or another.” The Sherriff moved back to his desk and sat heavily in his padded leather chair, his hands twisting in his lap.

“Now the fate of the whole town lies in your hands. You could destroy us all with one call. Maybe you already have?”

Jensen shook his head and rose. He took his turn staring sightlessly out the window as he chewed nervously on his nails. Beaver was asking all the hard questions Jensen hadn’t even been able to ask himself, let alone answer. Jensen pinched the bridge of his nose, a headache was coming on. He shook his head noncommittally.

Beaver breathed out relieved sigh. “Well that’s good to hear. No good decision is made in haste.” Taking the lid off his cup of takeout, Beaver sipped at his coffee before he spoke again. From the rich, distinctive scent wafting up from the cup, Jensen knew immediately it was one of Jared’s blends. Jensen’s mouth tightened.

“Maybe you think the rez is the only place for you now, and that’s your choice. But what I’d like you to do is see beyond the propaganda you’ve been fed all your life. Before you condemn a lot of the humans in this town to prison and the whole pack to the rez, give these folks a chance to earn your trust. Maybe, being a were won’t turn out to be the terrible thing you’ve been told.”

Jensen’s lip curled in disgust. “These people you talk about in such a homespun folksy way; these people killed my whole family. Slaughtered them in the night with no provocation other than that they were human. What makes you think I have any sympathy in my heart for them?”

Beaver leaned back in his chair and looked at him thoughtfully. “I looked into your files, Jensen. Lehne was a zealot and quite probably more than a little insane. His family had been slaughtered during the war and the human soldiers who found him hiding under the bed… oh, he was twelve or thirteen at the time, well they raped and abused the boy. I’m not saying what he did was right, but things don’t come out of nowhere, and hate only breeds hate. Jared thought enough of you to mate you, and I'm probably not supposed to say anything, but Morgan’s already eyeing you for the next Alpha when he retires. You could have a good life here.”

Beaver smiled, his faded blue eyes hopeful. “You’re a man who seems to inspire loyalty, Ackles. Given a chance, I think you could make this work.” Beavers’ face twisted, like he tasted something bad.

“With Pellegrino’s passing, it seems I might have an opening for a deputy sheriff. And since I sure as shit ain’t getting any prettier or any younger, that feller would be in line to be the next sheriff, soon. Now of course I have plenty of deputies both human and were with lots of tenure who would do a damn fine job. But, for the sake of discussion, if someone with your service and range of experience as a Marshal might apply for the job, that background would certainly be invaluable to the department. It would really put that person on a whole other level as a candidate. Of course, I think it might take a smart man to smooth over the ruffled feathers if they were to get the job, but I’m sure the rest of the deputies would probably adjust just fine once they saw that person in action and could see the sense of it. Sure would make a nice excuse to give the Hunter Division, if said feller was going to suddenly quit the force.”

Jensen turned to stare at Beaver, his mouth gaping in surprise. “Isn’t that a tad convenient? Is that what you think it will take to shut me up, another tin star? Why not just kill me?”

“Like I said, most of us are good, decent souls and murder isn’t the first thing any of us think of. I know it probably don’t seem so, but I’m not trying to bribe you, son. Pellegrino’s gone and that ain’t changing whether you take me up on my offer or not. It’s the way things work out sometimes, when the right man for the job comes along, things just work themselves out, all on their own.”

Jensen lifted his chin defiantly, his hand settling on the hilt of his Taurus. “I haven’t decided what I’m going to do, but the first thing I am doing is filing a report and then delivering Taylor and her pup to the Reservation where they belong. The rest of you, I’ll deal with later.”

Beaver’s faded blue eyes stared at him sadly. “If that’s what you think you’ve got to do, son. No one’s going to stop you. Personally, I think it would be good if you went out to visit the rez. See for yourself, with those shiny new wolf senses of yours, exactly what is going on there. Might help you understand why weres believe going there is worse than dyin’.” Beaver ran his hand through his thinning hair, “Most important though, you need to give yourself time. Wait till the full moon. Wait and see what being a were is really all about. Then make up your mind. Can you do that for me, son? And let me know what your decision is about the job. I’ll have to find someone sooner rather than later.”

Jensen stared at Beaver thoughtfully. He knew what he did next could affect Beaver’s career, even the rest of his life, whether it was spent in or out of prison, but he could scent no deceit in the old sheriff, or in his offer. Frustration twisted at his gut. He felt manipulated and betrayed, all at once. Worse, he didn’t know who to believe. Or which side he was on, anymore.

Good as his word, Beaver and two of his human deputies escorted Jensen to lockup. The air thickened with hostility, resentment pouring in waves off the weres in the office as Jensen started down the steps to the lower level. Expecting the worst, his hand rested on his holster, but not one person made a move.

Jensen’s nose wrinkled at the close quarters, the walls pressing in on him in a way he never remembered before, the air stifling, murky, and off from too little circulation. His wolf was bristling at the need for open sky and freedom. Jensen ruthlessly wrestled it down.

As the big metal door opened, Taylor’s anxious gaze swung toward him. She looked at Jensen and her eyes widened in surprise and then in fear as her wolf sensed his. She grabbed Patrick and pulled him protectively to her side.

“Is it time?” She said, her chin high in the air. Jensen could hear the faint tremble in her voice.

He nodded. “I’m here to escort you to the Bighorn Reservation, ma’am as per the law.”

“Grab your things, baby.” Taylor whispered to her son.

“What about Aaron?” Patrick wailed and Jensen’s gaze darted around the too close confines of the cell; there was no sign of the younger boy. He whirled around to look at Beaver. He had expected the young cub to have been found by now.

“Where’s the kid?” Jensen’s voice was gruff with emotion. He could only imagine the fear the young boy must be experiencing. Although he had been more Patrick’s age than Aaron’s when his family had been taken from him, he could well imagine the little boy's fear and loneliness, at being separated from his family.

He remembered lying down along the dirt road from their family’s farm after the fire, his feet and hands scorched and bleeding, alone and cold in the dark, waiting for the sirens he heard in the darkness to get closer. Jensen started to growl.

Beaver shrugged helplessly. “We had an amber plus alert out and notices all over the state, but he never turned up. We think he’s holed up with a relative, but Felicia isn’t sayin’ diddly. We’ll find him, sooner or later, and reunite him with his mother as fast as we can."

Patrick started to cry, and Jensen had to leave the lockup. He couldn’t bear to feel the waves of despair coming off the woman and child as they packed up their meager belongings. Besides he had a call to make.

: : :

“Ackles, it’s about damn time! I was about to send a squad of Hunters after your skinny white ass. It’s been almost six days and I haven’t heard a peep out of you. What the hell have you been up to, and more importantly what do you have to say for yourself? This ain’t a damn spa. We got work to do.”

Jensen could almost imagine the smoke coming out from between Williams ears as he barked into the phone. Jensen grimaced, it wasn’t as if the man didn’t deserve an answer. It had taken Jensen a while to figure out what he was going to say to Williams and, truth be told, he didn’t like lying to the man. He still wasn’t sure what his next step was going to be, but Beaver was right, he needed to keep all his options open until after he’d visited the rez. At some point or other he might have to come clean with his captain, but that was a worry for another day.

“Well you might say, I ran into a bit of trouble.” Jensen said, tongue firmly in cheek.

“This better be good, because Beaver didn’t tell me squat except they found your cabin burned to the ground. You alright? Was this some kind of payback for that were you killed?"

“Yeah, I wish.” Jensen sighed and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

“Um, so… nothing quite so dramatic. I came home after a long couple of days following leads on Olsson’s associates. They were all pretty much dead ends, the lone wolf blows into town and sets up shop really seems to be the case here. Anyway, I was beat, but I wanted one more cup of coffee before I hit the sack. So I fired up the old coffee machine that came with the place. Next thing I knew I wake up and the whole place is in flames. I made a run for it, but I must have hit my head on something in the smoke. A neighbor saw the fire and she and her husband picked me up out of the snow.” Jensen fidgeted, not wanting to spin his fake injury out too long.

“Ended up, I had a big goose egg on the back of my head, so they took me home and watched over me. I woke up two days later. The woman assured me her husband had gone in to town on business and he was going to tell the police where I was. I was stuck out in the middle of the woods for the next two days, with no phone and no television, just the radio, being slowly fattened up by his wife and going a little crazy with boredom. Out of sheer desperation I resorted to doing small jobs around the farm.”

“I can’t quite imagine you sitting still that long Ackles.” Williams snorted.

“Neither can I.” Jensen retorted dryly. “I was about to hike back in to town on foot when the husband arrived back with his trailer full of horses he’d purchased. Turns out the business he had was out of state and he forgot to tell the sheriff before he left town. I helped him unload the horses, and by the time we got them settled in, another day was shot. Eventually, he did take me back to the station and doc checked me out. My thick skull is fine, but that’s five days later. All I know is Munter’s Gorge definitely operates on ‘Mountain time’.” Jensen chuckled. “So now I’m homeless, but I’ve got a thirty pound smoked ham by way of thanks from the couple in the back of my truck. I was thinking of mailing it to you.”

“Only if it's kosher, Marshall. You do that and I’ll skin you alive. So, if you’re coming up blanks on the case why don’t you high tail it back here? I got a couple other cases on the go that could use your help.”

“Um… well there are a couple things I want to do first. The local sheriff’s told me the Bighorn Reservation is only about two, three hours drive from here and I want to drive out there and check it out before I report back.”

“Yeah, sounds like a good idea. It would certainly get you a feel for the area and where the were hot spots are. You got my go ahead on that. And what’s the second thing?” Williams voice took on a note of suspicion.

Jensen blew out a soft breath, part A of his plan had gone off without a hitch, now for part B. “Yeah, about that, I’d like to take a couple weeks off.”

“What?”

Jensen had to hold the phone away from his ear until Williams calmed down. “Well, I’ve kind of got a date on Friday.” Jensen made sure to sound a bit sheepish when he confessed. Williams was no fool and he knew Jensen far too well to trick easily.

“A date? Marshalls don’t have dates, and why would a date take two weeks. You ain’t that good in the sack.”

Jensen grinned, he could already hear the note of satisfaction and curiosity in Williams voice. Line baited and hooked. Now all he had to do was reel him in. “Haven’t you always been telling me I need to get out more? Well I think I found a good reason to get out.”

“And what’s her--or his--name?”

“His name?” Jensen played innocent.

“Pa-lease? You didn’t think I knew you were bi? What kind of detective do you take me for? The name?”

“Jared.”

“And what does this Jared do for a living?”

“What are you, my mom?” Jensen quipped in rebuttal.

“Don’t get smart with me or I’ll run background checks on every Jared in Munter’s Gorge, there’s probably what, two at most?”

“All right, all right, he’s a baker and he owns his own coffee shop and makes the best coffee for like a hundred miles around.”

“You’re in the ass crack of Montana, that standard can't be that hard to set.”

Jensen found himself glaring into the receiver.

“All right. I can see your hackles rising from here. So you want to use up some of that vacation you’ve been hoarding for years, and lay in bed with your new boyfriend for the next two weeks, that’s up to you. All you had to do was ask.” Jensen could hear the too innocent smile in Williams voice. “Just be sure to send in your V-94 form and I’ll sign it off.”

“Yes mom.”

“And Jensen….”

“Hmm?”

“Have fun son, you deserve to be happy. Be sure to file your damn report before the end of today. And take notes, I’ll want to hear your analysis of the rez when you get back.

“And Jensen….”

“Capt’n?”

“Wear a God damn rubber, you never know what these hill billies might have?”

Jensen groaned.

A half hour later, his report emailed off to Williams, filled with a stunning amount of lies, along with the requested vacation slip, found Jensen slouched against the side of his truck as Beaver and his deputies escorted Taylor and Patrick out of the building. Taylor was shackled at ankles and wrists, cuffs of unbreakable silver with a soft padded lining, so as not to burn sensitive were flesh. Patrick was again connected by a leash and wrist cuff to his mother.

Jensen helped the mother and child into the back seat of his truck's cab, and then left the two deputies to the job of securing the prisoners, attaching the chains to the reinforced steel loops bolted to the floor of the truck. Slightly chagrinned, he realized that if it weren’t for the black gloves he wore, he probably would have a hard time handling the silver chains himself.

Beaver discreetly pulled him aside. “Listen I know you think you know what you want here. But if you should change your mind, Taylor could be visiting Millie Reynolds. She was caught some years back at a teachers conference in Detroit when they did random screening. She said she’d been attacked on a trip to the city, so nothing ever tracked back to Munter’s Gorge, bless her, but in her day, she was a favorite teacher at the elementary school here. It wouldn’t be too unusual for Taylor to want to go see her old teacher, introduce her to her child.”

Jensen looked down at Beaver. “There’s no way that’s happening. I know what I’m doing. I’m turning her in.”

Comments always appreciated ^^


	11. The rez

 

The trip southeast to the Bighorn rez was quiet. Taylor had refused to say much more than a few words of gratitude when Jensen offered the sandwiches and snacks Beaver’s deputies had kindly provided. After that she reverted again to her self-imposed silence. Jensen didn’t have the heart to intrude. Patrick had cried himself to sleep, exhausted by the stress and emotions of the day. He and his mother were now curled together, asleep in the caged-off, back bench seat.

Jensen adjusted his too tight grip on the wheel, resolutely keeping his eyes on the road and his mind in neutral. He didn’t want to think about his decision anymore. It wasn’t up for debate. This was his job – what he’d been trained to do – and he was going to do it.

Simply because he hadn’t personally escorted any prisoners himself to the rez since Lehne didn’t mean he hadn’t been sending weres there for years. It’s where they deserved to be. He had to admit though, there was more than a small amount of curiosity and trepidation to see where he’d be going himself after he took apart Munter’s Gorge.

Three hours later, Jensen turned onto one of only two private roads the Feds had constructed to get to the rez some thirty years ago. He opened the glove compartment of the truck and pulled on his black gloves and slipped the chain around his neck his silver marshal badge hung on. He was as ready as he was going to be.

According to the background file Jensen's research had turned up, the were population, with their greater resistance, was immune to the effects of radiation. This discovery had led the Feds to locate the Bighorn Reservation on abandoned lands, after the war was over. Multiple studies had been done ahead of time to assure the weres' safety, but as Jensen drove down the long single lane road to the reservation gates, he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that it had all been a lie.

Maybe to human Jensen it wouldn’t have been obvious, but to newly turned Jensen, the land around him was sour and reeked of death. His wolf’s hackles rose the further they journeyed onto the reserve. In the back of the cab, Taylor and Patrick grew restless in their sleep, tossing and turning in agitation. Jensen’s skin started to sting with a low-grade burn.

He wondered how much stronger that would become when he transitioned to a full were. He rolled down the window, desperate for some sign of life. His ears pricked up, as his wolf scented the air, scanning the tainted lands. Jensen’s frown only deepened. All around him was a vast, dead, desert scape, no life anywhere. His wolf clawed beneath his skin, whining, desperate to leave.

Jensen shuddered, understanding in a way he never could have done, previously. He looked at Taylor and Patrick in the rear view mirror, and wondered how much worse it would get. They hadn’t even reached the rez itself yet, and he wanted to leave. How he could condemn two innocents to a life in this wretched land? They hadn’t killed or hurt anyone. Not yet anyway, Jensen’s conscience whispered.

His stomach churning, he stopped the truck, clicking the small remote on his key ring to release the locks on the stay bars on their ankle manacles before he got out of the vehicle. Taylor woke as he opened the truck's back door, and rubbed at her eyes. “What, we’re here?” Her eyes were wide and she flinched as her wolf tried to connect with the surrounding lands. “Goddess,” she gasped in horror.

Jensen took her left hand and started to unlock the silver manacles. “I’m releasing you from the chains. I’m not letting you go, mind you, and the charges aren’t dropped. I want a chance to assess the situation before I decide if I’m going to leave you here or not.” Taylor’s bowed head raised up immediately.

“You mean you might change your mind?”

He could see tears in the corners of her eyes.

“Give me your other hand,” Jensen said brusquely. He unlocked the chains and slid the bracelet from the still sleeping boy’s wrist.

He stowed the chains in the case on the back of his truck and got back into the cab. “I want you to say nothing when we go in. Leave it to me.” Groping for a plausible cover Jensen remembered a family he’d interviewed when he’d first came to the Gorge. “And your names are Sara Welling and Patrick Welling, from Cobourg Junction, if anyone asks. You’re here to see an old school teacher.” Taylor nodded without speaking and clutched Patrick closer to her breast.

Cursing himself for not writing it down, Jensen tried to recall all the details Beaver had given him about the woman. If what his gut was telling him proved to be true, he needed to buy Beaver a beer when he got back. And then he needed to call Williams and feel the Captain out on his assessment of the rez system. Jensen found it hard to believe that Williams could be involved in sending weres to death camps, but then he’d been fooled himself for so long, anything was possible.

They had started to see a long ribbon of black running across the horizon fifteen minutes ago. It shimmered in the heat like a mirage, flickering in and out of focus. It was deathly quiet, and they had seen no other vehicles the entire trip. As they drove closer, the black ribbon resolved itself into a looming black wall that stretched the entire span of the horizon. It was made of some non-reflective surface. Even standing on the hood of a car or truck, a were would have a hard time leaping over that wall. Jensen guessed that was the point. The front gates to the Bighorn Reservation were as intimidating and uninviting as the wall, with two square guard towers that loomed out on either side. Jensen could make out high caliber guns pointed inward. Squinting, Jensen could see similar towers at regular intervals along the length of the wall.

The whole reservation gave off a deadly vibe of a much higher magnitude than the simple chain link fenced expanse where Jensen had picked Lehne up all those years ago. This place was designed to send people to, and have them never return.

A couple hundred feet from the gates, a black slab rose from the ground. Jensen drove up to it. There was a radiating pattern like a speaker and one black button. He punched the button.

“Hello?” Jensen’s voice was gruff, more Texas showing in than normal.

“Yes,” a male voice came on instantly.

“Marshal Ackles here, Hunter division, badge number 63249. I’ve been in Montana on a hunt and Sherriff Beaver suggested I drop in and check out the operation. I’ve also got a visitor with me as well, Sara Welling and her son. She’d like to check in on an old school teacher of hers, Millie Reynolds.”

Taylor’s mouth hung open in surprise, but true to her word, said nothing.

“Yes, Marshal, we have a record of your case. Well done, putting down that were scum. Only good were is a dead one, we always say. Hold on, we’ll open the gates. Director Sheppard will be waiting for you inside.”

Jensen’s eyebrows rose in surprise. Not the attitude he had expected from the long term caretakers of the were reservation. He glanced back at Taylor, whose eyes glimmered once again with unshed tears, and pressed a finger to his lips, cautioning her to silence.

Footsteps clipped along the concrete flat top coming toward them as Jensen climbed out of his truck.

“Marshal Ackles,” a voice with a prominent British accent called out. “Good to meet you.”

Jensen turned to see a short, stout, balding man dressed in an expensively styled suit, striding toward them. Jensen extended his black-gloved hand and they shook. The man had a surprisingly firm grip.

“Call me Jensen, please! We were out at Billings shopping, and I wanted to drop in on our way home, take a look at the place, if you don’t mind? Sorry for the informal attire,” Jensen said, plucking at his black cotton shirt, a stark contrast to Director Sheppard’s formal dress, “I’ve had a recent run in with some faulty wiring that burned the cabin where I was staying to the ground. It took out practically everything I had, hence the shopping.” Jensen arched a brow and smiled. He turned to open the back door of the truck for Taylor and Patrick.

“Oh how unfortunate. Good hunting I trust?” Sheppard replied, “Ah and these must be your ‘guests’ and shopping companions.” Director Sheppard’s lascivious gaze slid over Taylor, lingering a little longer than necessary on her slender form. “Visiting old Millie are we?”

Stepping in front of a shrinking Taylor, Jensen answered in her place. “Oh, sorry, I should have introduced you. Yes, Ms. Welling and her son. I thought they could go say hello while I attended to work. Millie was Ms. Welling’s grade school teacher.”

“Shame about the old dear, attacked by a random were after all those years of service. Might have lived out her life and simply retired if the school board hadn’t started random checks.” Sheppard drew himself up on his toes, puffing out his chest as he straightened his tie.

“Yeah, well whatever it takes to gather them up you know? Sometimes even the good guys catch a lucky break. I should warn you though, Director, we do want to get back home before dark, so we only have a couple of hours before we have to leave.” Jensen smiled and turned to look out over row after row of dilapidated barracks, probably left over from the military base built here after the Crow tribe moved out in the fifties.

It was a pretty barren outlook, with only a long cement boardwalk, painted a lurid red that was peeling in the harsh sun. Skirting the boardwalk was a long series of new, modern buildings that hugged the black walls guarding the rez. On the left were areas the size of football fields, deserted barracks, and then off in the distance, nothing but desert. “Where would she need to go to see her? Is there a bus to the weres' town?”

“Oh no, Millie’s right over here. Barracks 28, row seven. It’s only a bit beyond that blue building, there. She should be back from the school by now. You’ll find her there. I would ask you to wear these visitor badges. That way, no misunderstandings happen with the guards.”

Taylor nodded, shakily accepting the visitor passes and attaching them to Patrick's shirt and hers. She realized she was staring at the barracks in horror and dropped her gaze, hastily mumbling, “Thank you,” before clutching at Patrick’s hand and setting off toward the designated building.

“Oh and Ms. Welling!” Sheppard called out sharply after she went a few feet.

“Y-Yes?” Taylor turned, her eyes wide.

“Just a note of warning, darling, it’s good you plan to leave shortly, because unprotected, humans are only safe on the rez for up to three hours. After that you and your son will need a radiation suit, or to stick to the protected areas. They are all painted red.”

Taylor glanced nervously at her watch and nodding jerkily hurried off toward Millie’s.

“Bit of a nervous thing, don’t you think? So what brings you here, Marshal?” Sheppard slanted a pointed glance at Jensen.

“Well,” Jensen smiled slyly, going on a hunch after taking in Sheppard’s suit, far above a director’s pay grade. He looked down sheepishly and scuffed his booted foot, “I guess what brings all marshals here. I want to see the sights. If you know what I mean?”

“Right, right, of course!” Sheppard smiled broadly. “Your first time here, I imagine? What brought you here, specifically? Word of mouth? We pride ourselves on customer satisfaction.” Sheppard turned and gestured toward the new buildings crouched beneath the wall's shadow. “Then let’s begin shall we? A famous Marshal like you at our rez, I definitely want you to be satisfied.”

“If you have the time, that would be great.” Jensen did his best to keep it casual, a sinking feeling in his gut as he forced himself to put on a good show for Sheppard.

“Splendid.” Sheppard tucked Jensen’s arm into his and drew him toward a large grey building on the right. “Well first off, you might notice the concrete pad we’re on, it goes down thirty feet deep. The walls of all the official buildings have an insulating core ten feet thick to protect against the radiation. The rads might not bother the weres, but I want to take good care of my nads, thank you very much.”

Jensen looked down at the sea of concrete running the length of the new buildings. Discreetly, he rubbed his arm, and noticed the burning sensation was gone. So the human barracks and operations area was obviously well shielded and insulated from the radiation.

“So there’s Ops, where we keep track of the weres’ movements. Of course, since we instituted the shackle system five years back, they’re not much of a bother anymore. None of that shifting and running willy-nilly all over the rez. There’s nothing out there anyway. And if one does get away, we have our predator drones. With the tracking chips in their necks, there’s no need any more to waste an officer out there looking for them.” Sheppard turned slyly towards Jensen and patted his arm companionably.

Under his coat, Jensen’s skin crawled at the oily touch.

“But wouldn’t not shifting harm the weres in the long term?”

“Nah! The little buggers do surprisingly well with not turning. Of course there is the usual whinging, but we’ve only seen a five percent increase in the death rate since we instituted the system. That’s acceptable to the department so far, and the loss in workforce is offset by the savings in staff and surveillance.”

“Hmm, makes sense.” Jensen gave Sheppard with what he hoped was a suitably impressed look, all the while, the inside of his head was spinning.

“But you’re not here to see the predator drones or the monitoring system, are ya, mate? You’re here for the real treat.” The director smirked as they walked past Ops and another large building came into view, this one painted florid pink.

“Like I said, I don’t got much time, Director, so let’s get on with the show.” Jensen cocked his head and smiled tightly.

“Ah, a man after my own heart. Shall we talk business?”

“Sure.” Jensen looked appraisingly at the director.

“For a couple of hours with one of our best, we’re talking two k.”

“As long as they are your best.” Jensen’s smile became a bit harder. They were edging closer to a new building, and Jensen’s new wolf senses smelled several dozen weres in heat, all overlaid with a thick layer of fear.

“Excellent, excellent.”

“Where are the rest of the weres, then?” Jensen asked casually looking around.

“Oh, we reopened the mines, most of them are at work I imagine. With a potential workforce like that, mostly immune to the effects, it would be a pity not to take advantage of the situation, don’t you think?”

“So the uranium mines are open again.” Jensen worked hard to keep his voice casual.

“Well there’s no one around to be hurt by it now, is there? And Uncle Sam surely needs the energy. Cheaper to mine it at home than import it from offshore, and with none of the usual safety concerns.”

“Pretty ingenious, I have to say.” Jensen pursed his lips in approval and Sheppard preened.

“Well it helped when the government changed the laws, and we didn’t have to deal with all those pesky shifting rights. Mind you, let it be said, the work in the mines is strictly voluntary. Gives ‘em enough money to buy those perks they might want in their lives.”

I can imagine, Jensen thought darkly as Sheppard led him up onto a wide covered porch running the length of the building.

“And now to the big show.” Sheppard swept the double doors open, and inside was a scene straight out of a Vegas dancehall. “Let me show you inside Little Bighorn as we like to call it.”

Red crushed velvet patterned wallpaper covered the walls, and heavy blood red velvet drapes framed the windows. A long mahogany bar took up one side of the building; low divans, chairs and sofas were along the other. Everywhere in the room were hunters, lounging in chairs and sprawled across cushions. And serving their every need were young, skimpily clad weres.

Jensen looked over at Sheppard, his eyebrows raised in surprise.

“Yes, pretty impressive selection. The weres seem to be gagging for it and we have to turn many of the less attractive away. But they’re a handsome people, and if you have a hair or an eye color preference you don’t see on shift right now, we can call it up on the computer and have them report in.”

Sheppard absently patted the odd young man’s or woman’s ass as he threaded his way toward the side of the room. “You’ll note we don’t keep many older ones about. Doesn’t give the right image, you understand. Come on, I’ll buy you a drink and then you can pick out what you want.” Sheppard found them two cushy seats in a secluded corner of the room.

Sheppard snapped his fingers and a young woman who looked barely sixteen was instantly at his side. “Director.”

She had her head lowered, but Jensen could clearly see the silver chain too tight around her neck and the faint bruising and burn marks from where it touched her skin.

“Be a pet, love and get us two brandies. The good stuff, mind. None of that crap we feed the patrons.” Sheppard’s eyes widened, and he looked at Jensen. “Not that we’d ever pull that on you, Marshal.”

Jensen smiled, his teeth on show. “No of course not, Director, why would I think that?”

“Now where’s my puppies?” Sheppard roared slapping his hands together. For a moment the house went silent, then Jensen spotted two nearly naked figures hurrying through the crowd. A few of the hunters started to laugh and conversation quickly resumed as a young boy and girl, clad only in a few artfully arranged straps of black leather, rushed to Sheppard’s side.

“Sorry, master, we didn’t see you come in,” The young blonde beta rushed to explain.

“Sorry, master.” A more sullen omega, with dirty blond hair collapsed to his knees at Sheppard’s feet.

“Now Alona, I believe, is truly sorry. Colby, you on the other hand, still need to work on your delivery. If you’re going to be a liar, lad, you need to be a better one.” Sheppard grabbed Colby by the hair and twisted his head back, exposing his face and chest in the dim bar lighting.

Jensen had to bite back a gasp of shock, the young man’s face was black and blue, and up close he could see his chest was covered in whip marks.

The omega reeked of heat, but Jensen could sense no hint of longing or want coming off the boy, only waves of hatred and loathing. Between the straps of the short leather kilt the boy wore, his cock lay flaccid and disinterested.

The server returned with the prescribed glasses of brandy. Jensen took a sip and closed his eyes to hide his disgust at the treatment of the boy.

“So, boys and girls, we need to pick out something for the Marshal here. Something fresh. I’m sure the Marshall doesn't want any rough trade.” Rubbing his hands together Sheppard barked, “Alona, go get Colin for me.”

Jensen saw Alona’s nostrils flare as she scented Jensen and her eyes widened.

“But master he’s… ”

“I’m sure he’s perfect.” Jensen rushed in, before Alona could say more. “I’d love to meet him. Get to know him.” Jensen waggled his eyebrows lasciviously, and Sheppard laughed.

“Oh I knew you’d fit in perfectly, the minute I met you.” Sheppard chortled, then leaned forward and viciously cuffed Colby across the head. “And you, pup why are you still sitting there? It’s lack of initiative like this that brings it all down on you, Colby. Get to work.”

Sheppard flung himself back in his chair and widened his knees. The omega crawled closer and fumbled with Sheppard’s belt and fly.

“Now there’s a good boy.” Sheppard crooned as Colby drew his half hard cock out from his dress pants. “Mind the dribble, I just got these dry cleaned yesterday.”

Colby diligently went to work licking at the head of Sheppard’s cock, carefully sliding his tongue up the fat vein running along the underside and curling it around the mushroom head. He had tentatively started to guide Sheppard’s cock into his mouth when the director lost it.

“I told you before, lad, don’t play with it, just fucking suck it.” Impatiently, Sheppard grabbed Colby by the jaw, forcing his mouth open wider and shoved his cock down his throat. Colby choked and sputtered as he tried to take it all in. When Sheppard nudged against the back of the boy’s throat a new round of gagging and sputtering commenced.

Unable to continue to watch and maintain the half bored, amused look he’d plastered on his face any longer, Jensen gazed around the room. His eyes widened, and he was forced to move his hand up to rest against his lips in order to help hide his look of surprise at some of the hunters he saw here. Reputable, well-respected marshals, all being seen to by a bevy of desperate young weres.

The blonde were, Alona, reappeared through the crowd, the leather handle of a silver leash in her hand, tugging a reluctant youth behind her.

“Ah, that’s my girl. Nice touch with the leash lass.” Sheppard grinned and then as an aside to Jensen, “She always did have a taste for the dramatic.”

The boy stood there, wavering, obviously torn as to whether he should kneel or not. Sheppard waved him closer, “Closer, closer boy.”

Sheppard grinned at Jensen, a proud look on his face as he squeezed the cheek of the boy’s ass. “Marshal, this is Colin, I think you’ll like him. He’s not mated yet, so he doesn’t go into heat like my puppies here, but he’s young and horny, so fucking him shouldn’t be a problem, and he’ll enjoy it well enough. They seem to get a little extra desperate for it once they’re mated, but their heats only last a week every four months, so in the meantime we give them a little ‘chemical encouragement,’ if you get my meaning? Yeah? So far, dear Colin here has only been used for hand work. You’d be the first to pop his cherry. And don’t worry, fucking him won’t have you mated to the boy no matter what rumors you’ve heard. They need a knot for that.” Sheppard winked at Jensen gleefully as he pushed Colin toward Jensen. Then the director gazed around until he spotted Alona hovering to his right behind his chair.

“Here pet, come get your reward.”

Sheppard shoved a choking and gasping Colby onto the floor and with a deep laugh pulled Alona into his arms and hoisted the slender beta up in the air. The girl’s bare breasts bounced and she shrieked and dropped the silver leash, then the sound cut off abruptly as Sheppard lowered her onto his spit slick cock.

Jensen saw the girl wince in pain as Sheppard thrust into her with no prep. The young boy she had been leading, Colin, watched her and Sheppard for a moment before taking another few of steps toward Jensen before folding gracefully to his knees in front of him.

Anger and disgust tore at Jensen as he watched yet another young were violated before his eyes. His fingers twitched, and it took a major force of will to keep his claws from slipping free. Instead he rubbed one hand over his mouth to help keep his true feelings from showing on his face.

When Colin raised his head and looked up at him though, Jensen almost broke. He bit his lip and Jensen’s body quivered as he experienced an almost primal surge of outrage and fury. His breath hitched in his chest and his gaze flew to Sheppard in shock. Could he know? Did he know? Was this some kind of a trap? Sheppard, though, was busy working the slip of a girl up and down on his cock.

The youth Sheppard had dumped so casually at Jensen’s feet was the spitting image of a young Jared.

As he stared down at the boy, it took everything in Jensen not to run from the room in revulsion, dragging the youth with him. Like Alona, Colin was barely sixteen if he was a day. His floppy brown hair didn’t hide the hurt, wary look in his eyes as he gazed up at Jensen. It sickened Jensen to see the bruises littering the tall, slender omega’s arms and hips.

Unmated, Colin still smelled neutral to Jensen, but he and his wolf kept imagining Jared in his place, and their combined protective instincts were in a riot. He couldn’t in his wildest dreams, even to maintain his cover, imagine doing anything sexual to the boy, especially considering how young he was. Sheppard’s little show here had sunk to an even lower level of depravity, using men and women so young. Jensen’s gut roiled as he watched as the boy wrapped his arms around his chest in a desperate attempt to cover himself. Clothed in only the short white leather strap kilt, his actions did little to hide his charms, or the fact that he was shaking like a leaf.

Colby, still sprawled on the floor where Sheppard had shoved him, knelt up and stared resentfully at Jensen, misreading his queasy expression. “What? He’s not what you want because he’s been touched by others? Because he’s been used?” Colby’s lips curled in a sneer.

“You ungrateful dog!” Sheppard roared, shoving Alona off his lap and advancing on the sprawled omega with a snarl, Sheppard kicked Colby, catching him mid-chest and sending him flying across the floor.

Behind Sheppard, Alona hurredly shoved her kilt back into place, and rushed to crouch in fear at the foot of Sheppard’s chair. Sheppard stalked over to Colby, chest heaving, his half hard cock hanging out of his pants and continued to kick him again and again. “You, you mongrel bitch. I knew you weren’t good enough to serve here.”

His leg tiring, Sheppard ran a hand through his disheveled hair and gave the boy a scathing look before ordering, “Leave, leave this instant and report to the retraining room before I kill you myself for embarrassing me in front of our esteemed guest.”

Colby’s already pale features blanched at mention of the ‘retraining room’. Jensen was torn between blowing his dubious cover by punching Sheppard’s lights out, or trying to defuse the situation on the off chance he could prevent things from getting worse for the boy, once Jensen left.

Decision reached, he put a hand on Sheppard’s arm.

“Wait, Director. If I may? I’d love to beat a bit of the spirit out of this bitch. Consider it foreplay to the tender morsel here.” Jensen reached for the leash’s handle and pushed it up under Colin’s trembling chin, forcing the boy’s face to tilt toward him. Jensen forced himself not to think. He was playing bad cop. He smiled, his best lecherous grin, and licked his lips as he let his gaze travel slowly over Colin’s body. From the quiver of terror that ran through Colin, he was convincing.

“Together I think they make quite the stunning pair, but public displays have never been my style. I’m sure there’s somewhere more private where the boys and I can continue this.”

Sweating profusely from his exertions, Sheppard patted his handkerchief over his balding pate, and straightened his suit jacket. “Yes. Why, of course. Not all of us have such exhibitionist tendencies.” Sheppard gave Colby’s prone body another kick. “Lazy git, get up and show the Marshal to the Rose room immediately or there’ll be hell to pay, lad, I swear. And you should be grateful for his kindness.”

Clutching his side, the young omega staggered to his feet and limped to the back of the room. Seeing they were following, he led Jensen and Colin up a wide, lavishly ornate staircase to the second floor. They continued along a balcony overlooking the main hall, down a garishly decorated hallway complete with red velvet curtains and Romanesque gold lacquered benches and vases. They came to a stop in front of a set of wide double doors, lacquered in gold.

Colby pushed the doors open and bowed as Jensen and Colin continued inside. The omega followed, closing the doors carefully behind him.

Jensen looked both boys over sternly. Colin was shivering so hard Jensen wondered if he was going to fall over. Colby had a fatalistic look of defeat on his face. Pointing to the bed, Jensen said nothing, just slipped a small portable scanner out of his belt and scanned the room for devices.

“Sir, if I may…It’s not monitored.” Colby said from where he knelt on the bed, his head bowed low. Beside him, Colin hunched his shoulders in tighter.

“And you know that how?” Jensen growled, hoping to put enough menace in his voice.

“Because they’re all Feds of one kind or another here, and they’re all in on it. Sheppard’s too smart to attempt to monitor anyone. He’d find himself turned and skinned if any of them found out. Besides, since when do the Feds use our kind to hunt us?” Colby snuck an accusing peek at Jensen through his shaggy dirty blond bangs, battling to hide the curiosity and resentment Jensen could hear in his voice.

Jensen smirked, “Long time now, boy. Who better to catch a wolf than a wolf? I gotta ask though, if working here is voluntary, what exactly do you get out of this whole deal?” Jensen did a wide circuit of the room with his scanner. Finally satisfied, he closed the device with a snap and both Colin and Colby flinched.

Slowly he approached the bed and waved a hand, motioning for Colby to continue.

Flustered, the omega rushed to explain. “F-Food. Money for my parents so they don’t starve. Anti-radiation meds.”

“Anti-radiation meds? I thought weres were immune to the radiation.”

“Yeah, maybe in small doses, but not twenty-four seven, year after year. We’re all dying here. Slowly, but we're dying.” Colby spit out sullenly.

Beside Colby, Colin suddenly swayed and Jensen had to put out a hand to steady the youth. “Hey, you okay?” Coling was trembling like a leaf. “Not gonna hurt you, son.”

Jensen went to the small bar off to the side of the room and returned with glasses of orange juice for both omegas.

“Here, boys, drink up. Nothing’s going to happen here for the next hour but the three of us taking a little nap, so you can both relax.”

Jensen took the empty glasses from their hands and kicked off his boots. Colby stared at him like he had gone mad. “You’re not going to fuck us?” His voice was overly loud in the room.

“Do you want to be fucked?” Jensen asked blandly.

Colby swallowed and looked down at the bed spread, his voice dropping to an embarrassed whisper. “I’m in heat. Without a knot, a mating with a human helps but it doesn’t soothe the heat like a real knotting does. Then when we’re not in heat, Sheppard uses drugs…to help us want the humans.”

Jensen knew Sheppard was a cruel, money grubbing bastard, but using drugs to enhance a were’s heat ratcheted things to a whole new level of evil. He had already noticed the musky scent of Colby’s arousal. A new wave of his heat was building.

Jensen shook his head sadly, “I’m already mated. Sorry, but you don’t smell so good to me.” Jensen suppressed the wave of revulsion at the idea of knotting another omega. As much as Jared was his, he had the stunning realisation that he was Jared’s, as well.

Colby whimpered and Colin wrapped his long gangly arms around him in an attempt to comfort him. Jensen noticed the thin layer of sweat that suddenly covered the boy.

“So where’s your mate? You wouldn’t be in heat if you didn’t have a mate.”

Colby looked up, “He’s working at the mines. As long as I only fuck humans, it doesn’t interfere with our bond. But they don’t let me see him until the end of my heat. Just enough time to knot and keep me alive for another cycle. I don’t care though, if I can’t get the meds, Jeremy will die anyway. So I keep taking shifts and getting fucked by any hunter who comes through the door.”

Jensen shook his head, “So that explains Colby’s reasons but why are you here, Colin?” Jensen asked the younger boy.

“My mom and dad work themselves sick all day and barely make enough to buy food for the family, let alone medicine. There’s stuff I can do here to make money, to get them medicine, and help keep them alive.” Colin shrugged fatalistically

Grimacing, Jensen went to a large cabinet by the wall and rummaged through the series of shelves until he found what he was looking for.

“So would this help?” Jensen grinned as he held a small white remote and a very large pink knotted dildo up in the air.

“God yes.” Colby breathed out.

“I can’t… but maybe Colin?” Jensen raised a brow and at Colin’s tentative nod, passed the phallus to the young boy who nodded earnestly

Colin climbed up on the bed, and Colby rushed to kneel on all fours, ass raised in the air, head nestled on his crossed arms in the middle of the bed.

Jensen looked over at Colin, who watched him wide eyed.

“Maybe it would be good if someone kissed him, got him to relax a bit first, hmm? Think you can do that?”

Mute, Colin nodded and lay down along side Colby, wriggling his body in closer so he could run his hands along the shivering boy’s arms and back.

Jensen knew weres were touch-sensitive, and along with the pseudo knotting, the simple touching would help Colby as much as anything.

“You ready, Col?” Colin whispered and Jensen was struck by the two boys, one so much like Jared with dark shaggy hair and huge puppy dog eyes and the other more sullen and distrustful with dirty blond hair, suddenly reminding Jensen of himself at that age.

“Mnnghh, fuck just do it.” Colby panted, his ass bobbing in the air, his cock hanging full and heavy between his legs.

Colin ran his hand across Colby’s back and the boy trembled in response.

“Shhh, shhhh, don’t wanna rush and hurt you.” Colin whispered and Colby began to relax.

Jensen looked out the window. It seemed like an invasion of privacy to be here during such an intimate moment, but Jensen was trapped. Glancing over at Colin, he saw the young were was taking his duties seriously, kissing Colby like his life depended on it, while his hands ran across his chest. It was like watching a younger version of him and Jared making out.

Eventually satisfied that the older boy was ready for more, Colin stroked his hand down Colby’s back and the cheeks of his ass. Then he picked up the dildo and began touching him with it, running it across the tops of Colby’s ass, and along his crease until the omega wriggled and mumbled, “Oh fuck! God, yeah.”

Colin smiled shyly, obviously pleased with Colby’s response. Somewhat inexpertly, but with such care it made Jensen’s heart hurt, Colin ran the dildo between Colby’s legs, letting it rub against the boy's rock hard shaft and along his taint, finally easing it between the cheeks of his ass.

Slick was starting to run from Colby’s entrance as Colin rubbed the dildo back and forth along his crease, gathering as much slick as he could.

“Ready, Colby?” Colin’s voice was low as he leaned forward to kiss him. Colby moaned through Colin’s kiss. Taking it as a signal to continue, Colin eased the tip of his finger inside Colby’s pucker.

Jensen swallowed and looked away. He tried not to think about how much Colin looked like a younger Jared. How close Jensen had come to possibly condemning Jared to this kind of a life, struggling through his heats with only enough contact with Jensen to barely keep him alive.

At Colby’s sigh of pleasure, Jensen glanced back. He was impressed at the care the boy took opening him up. Finally satisfied, Colin withdrew his fingers and wiped the slick on them over the dildo, before raising it to Colby’s hole.

Colby jolted forward as Colin pressed the tip of the dildo against him. “God please, need it _now, now, now_.” Colby chanted. Colin darted an uncertain glance Jensen’s way, and at his nod, rubbed the head of the dildo back against Colby's hole a few more times before pressing it in. The tip slid inside easily and the omega howled in pleasure.

Half an hour later, the two boys lay on the bed, exhausted and half asleep. Colby was splayed out half over Colin’s chest; the knot of the pink dildo still nestled deep inside his ass, twitching and throbbing at regular intervals. Colby wriggled sleepy against Colin’s chest and let out a long satisfied moan.

Jensen sat in an armchair off to the side, staring out the window lost in thought. The ugliness of this place was wearing on him, and he couldn’t wait to leave. His only regret was he couldn’t bring every were in the place back with him to freedom and safety. Wearily, Jensen rubbed the back of his neck and checked his watch. It was time to go. Not bothering to wake the two omegas, Jensen rose to leave.

“It’s gonna be okay boys.” Jensen whispered, “One way or another, it’s gonna be okay.” The words were as much a promise to himself as the two weres.

img title="thaw_div07" src="http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/meus_venator/31762210/306772/306772_original.jpg" alt="thaw_div07" />

After collecting a subdued Taylor and Patrick from picnic tables in the shielded red zone near the parking lot, they all loaded in the truck. Taylor looked at him perplexed as they left the high walls of the reservation and Jensen didn’t stop the vehicle to re-secure them. Jensen said nothing for the first thirty miles. There were no cuffs, no shackles, no silver locking anybody down. All he could think of was Jared in Colin’s place, trembling in fear as he knelt scared and nearly naked on the floor of the bar, helpless against any hunter’s sadistic advances, bruises littering his golden skin. Jensen’s fingers tightened on the steering wheel, and the old leather wrap creaked threateningly.

Finally, free of sight of the rez’s black walls in his rear view mirror, Jensen stopped the truck and got out. He calmly walked to the side of the road, dropped to his knees and threw up everything he’d eaten that day.

When the choking, sobbing retching stopped, he climbed back into the cab and headed back to Munter’s Gorge. There was no doubt in his mind what he was going to do next.

Several hours later, dying for a coffee and a chance to stretch his legs, Jensen pulled over at an old roadside diner. Patrick had slept most of the trip, as had Taylor. Fear and exhaustion had lulled the boy to sleep each time he got in the truck, but Jensen knew he needed something substantial in his stomach, and so did Taylor, for that matter.

After their orders had been taken, Jensen took a sip of his coffee and looked over at Taylor.

“Did you know?” Jensen’s voice was gruff with emotion.

Her shaking fingers laced around her own mug and she shook her head.

“Not that it was that bad. The last time we’d heard any dependable news was a few years back. There seem to have been some pretty significant changes since. My god, where they have them living, and the work Millie says they’re doing in the mines….” Taylor shook her head in disbelief. “Whatever they started off as, the reservations aren't simply lands set aside for were use, to keep them safely away from men. They should call them what they really are – prisons. There’s not enough food, or blankets, or heating fuel. There’s no school for the young ones, so Millie is teaching forty or more cubs of various ages in a dormitory during the day. She’s pushing seventy. She should be taking it easy, but she refuses to. They don’t have enough books or paper to go around for the students, but they make do.”

Both stopped speaking when their waitress stopped by to take drop off their order.

“Where you and your family comin’ from, Marshal?” The older woman asked with a smile. Jensen touched the silver star still pinned on his black shirt, he had forgotten to remove it after leaving the rez. His finger tips tingled on contact with the silver.

He looked at Taylor and gripped her hand across the table as he smiled not bothering to correct the woman’s misconception. “Billings, for some shopping and some business.”

“Oh that must have been fun. I hope you bought your pretty lady something nice?”

Jensen smiled and took another sip of his coffee as the waitress placed the last of their plates of food on the table. She straightened, but continued to hover by the table. Jensen arched a brow in question. “Something I can help you with, Ma’am?”

“I don’t mean to intrude, but I wanted to say this while we have you here Marshal, how proud and safe I feel with people like you holding the line against the weres. I know it can’t be easy, but you’re a godsend to us all and I just want you to know it’s appreciated.”

The waitress smiled and left to look after another table. When she was free of earshot Taylor squeezed his hand tighter. She was shaking with fear, “I’m begging you, Marshal please, don’t send me and my children back into that hell hole.”

Jensen extracted himself from her hold and scrubbed his hands over his face, taking a deep breath.

“I wouldn’t send my worst enemy there. I’m taking you home, Taylor.”

Taylor slumped in her seat in relief and started to cry softly, which in turn upset Patrick. When the waitress came back to check on their meals she glanced at Jensen in apology. “I’m so sorry, honey. I didn’t mean to upset your family about your job.” Bustling around, she somehow managed to calm the tears and settle everyone with a chocolate shake for Patrick and a clean hanky for Taylor. Jensen pinched the bridge of his nose and wished himself far away.

Once again the hum of wheels on the road lulled Taylor and Patrick to sleep. For good or bad, that left Jensen alone with his thoughts. He worried his thumbnail with his teeth and thought of all the good, hardworking people he knew at the bureau. He didn’t believe any of them were aware of the reality of reservation life for the weres they brought in.

All his life he’d been driven by the idea that the only way to keep the peace and keep mankind safe was to segregate the werewolf population; that they were too dangerous to be allowed to be anywhere near mankind. He had taken pride in the government’s solution to develop separate reservations where the weres could live out their lives in peace, apart from man. It seemed just.

He remembered how angry he’d been when he’d escorted Lehne to the rez. After killing his entire family, Jensen had found it hard to believe that the man had got what he deserved.

Nothing could condone the murders Lehne had committed. But seeing the way weres were treated at the Bighorn Reservation, Jensen could begin to understand the growing rage and resentment that set Lehne and others like him on his path of revenge.

Somehow though, the Munter’s Gorge pack had found another way. Grimly, Jensen hung on to that thought as he drove through the gathering darkness.

**[Chapter 12](http://meus-venator.livejournal.com/64089.html) **

Comments always appreciated ^^


	12. Bad moon rising

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](http://meus-venator.livejournal.com/67191.html)

 

  


“Taylor … time to wake up. We’re here at your sister’s.”

“What?” Taylor sat up, and groggily looked out the truck’s window.

Jensen eased out of the Rover and stretched, then turned to open the back door. Taylor was trying to wake Patrick.

“Do you want me to carry him up?”

Taylor startled, eyes wide with surprise. “No, no, it’s okay, he’s getting to be too big to carried.” Taylor finally succeeded in waking the sleeping boy. Jensen gathered their few bags of belongings out of the back and helped them to the door of the apartment building. Taylor side eyed him and worried at her bottom lip at him as Patrick rang Felicia’s buzzer. When she finally spoke, the words pouring out of her in a rush. “Thank you. I know you didn’t have to do this, but you won’t regret it.”

“Marshal?” A half asleep, dressing gown-clad Felicia’s muffled voice came through the glass door of the entryway and interrupted anything further Taylor might have said when she appeared at the front door of the lobby and unlocked the door. “Oh my God, Taylor!” She cried, flinging open the door and grabbing her sister and Patrick up in a joyful hug. “We--I thought you’d been sent to the rez. Oh my God, come in, come in. How are you here?” With a confused look at Jensen she shepherded her sister and nephew inside the main doors.

“Long story, and all the thanks for us being here belong to the marshal.” Taylor smiled wanly, obviously exhausted by the days events, and Felicia turned to him in surprise.

“What’s happened to change your mind?” Felicia asked her hand gripping Taylor’s tightly.

“Listen, ladies, it’s been a long night and I don’t know about you, but I’m tired. I'm sure all you want to do is get upstairs and unwind, and catch up. We can chat about this at a more appropriate time. There’s just one thing…”

Both women looked at him expectantly.

Jensen had been thinking about this on the long drive home, and pieces of a workable cover story to explain Taylor’s release had started to slot together. He just had to make sure both women did their part going forward. “ To make this work – ladies, especially you Felicia, we need keep this on the down low. As far as the world is concerned, Taylor tested negative for the Lycan virus, and that’s all there is to it. Unfortunate about Ty, but he never infected Taylor. And you don’t know how or when he got infected. Case closed…Okay?”

Both women nodded in dazed agreement, “Okay.” Taylor breathed out a relieved breath. Wide eyed, Felicia shouldered one of the bags and took Patrick’s hand and turned toward the stairs. Taylor took one last look at Jensen and gave him a wobbly smile before making her way upstairs as well.

Smiling a little, a giant weight lifted off his chest, Jensen gave her a two finger salute before letting the building's door close behind him.

On the walk back to his truck, Jensen pondered his decision. His gut told him he’d done good, made the right decision with Taylor and Patrick and by extension, the right decision about the Munter’s Gorge pack. It seemed the only answer. As long as a were wasn’t violent or killing humans, no one deserved to be sent to the rez he’d just visited.

Relieved at the decision he’d come to, but strangely restless, he rolled down the windows on the truck and decided to take a drive. The late October evening was surprisingly balmy, as he took a turn around the old downtown strip,, finally finding himself on Jared’s street. Pulling the truck over, he gazed up at Jared’s apartment. A few lights were still on and Jensen could make out Jared’s silhouette in the window as he passed by.

In his mind’s eye, he could see Jared moving from one room to another. All that tall, lean grace. His large hands picking up a book to read, long, beautiful fingers turning the pages. Jared’s brow furrowing, his eyes slipping from green to blue in concentration. Jensen’s cock twitched in his jeans.

Jensen pressed his hand down on his crotch and let out a ragged breath. After a day spent immersed in depravity and cruelty, wounded weres in heat and hurting all around him, Jensen was wrung out. The idea of joining Jared, of washing all that pain and degradation away by burying himself in the omega’s sweet body as Jared’s arms wrapped around him was so tempting…but then what? Where could it possibly lead? It was one thing to change his mind about the were population, but it still left him mated to a virtual stranger.

He didn’t want to hate Jared for trapping him here, for trapping him in this life. Most of all he didn’t want to hate him for taking off his blinders, for stealing that flame of righteous anger that had kept Jensen running for so long.

So what was he left with? He couldn’t leave. Jared would die. He would have to do his duty and mate Jared during his heats; keep the omega alive. But that was it. He hadn’t invited Jared into his life, hell, he’d actually tried to cut him out of it. He’d make this work though. How hard could it be to fuck a gorgeous man a couple times of year? The rest could be business as usual.

His head pounding, Jensen turned the keys in the ignition. Maybe it was time to find out exactly how much alcohol it took to get a were drunk.

“Hey, Jensen, man, don’t you think you’ve had enough?” Chris looked over at him anxiously as he drew a fresh draft from the tap.

“I’m fine, trust me, I’m more than fine. Give me one of those,” Jensen gestured toward the beer Chris was currently pulling, “and a couple of shots to go with it, hmmm?” Jensen made a ‘gimme me’ motion with his fingers and Chris sighed.

“You sure? I think the only thing holding you up right now is that stool you’re sitting on.”

Jensen narrowed his gaze and growled at Chris. “You’re not my mother. My mother’s dead. Now give me the God. Damn. Whiskey.” The air around the bar trembled, and Jensen realized he’d mistakenly used his Alpha voice without even realizing. He saw some of the weres in the room cringe.

Unaffected, Christian’s eyebrows rose along with his hands, in surrender. “Hey, no need to bite my head off, son. Just tryin’ to look out for you, all right? Besides, it’s almost closing time. I’m gonna need to send you home soon.” Christian wiped down the area of the bar in front of Jensen, then poured his shots, slamming a fresh beer down in front of him. Glancing at the clock, he cocked an eyebrow at Jensen and smiled, “The bar's officially closed, my friend.”

Jensen’s lip curled in derision. He wasn’t even drunk yet, he could easily drink more.

It was only as Christian poured him into the passenger seat of his own car and Jensen couldn’t remember how they got out to the parking lot that Jensen realized maybe, he had reached even his were’s limit.

“M’keys?” Jensen mumbled, running his hands awkwardly over his jacket searching.

“No way, you're way too drunk to drive.”

“Traitor,” Jensen grumbled as he curled into his seat.

Chris chuckled, “Hey, listen, I know you’re staying at that fleabag they call a hotel here in town but there’s no way I’m leaving you there alone and drunk. I’m taking you over to Jared’s. You can sleep it off on his sofa.” Christian shook his head and started the car. “I don’t think he’s going to be very happy about this.”

When Jensen blinked again, the car had stopped moving. “Can’t see him now. Can’t fucking love him. Can’t fucking love anyone.” Jensen mumbled drunkenly as he slumped stubbornly, deeper into his seat.

“I don’t know what kind of fight you two had, but I think you should shut up once we get in there. You’re probably in enough trouble.” Christian cautioned as he hefted Jensen out of the car.

Jensen stared up at the night sky. The moon hung there, waxing gibbous, casting a pale blue light over everything. Mocking him. His wolf stirred restlessly, only a few days until the full moon. A few short days until his wolf was released into the world for the first time, and the last shred of Jensen’s humanity was ripped away.

Together they staggered up the staircase of Jared’s building. Christian leaned him against the wall as he knocked on the door. Several minutes later the door opened, and a sleepy, tousle-haired giant stood in the doorway. Jensen unconsciously relaxed in the restful glow of Jared’s presence. His foggy mind blearily crooned, _Mineminemine_ as he stared at his mate.

This close, Jensen could sense Jared’s calm, soothing thoughts, tinged now with worry, through the mating bond. He inhaled his mate’s spicy scent, so different from the sour, sickly sweet smell of forced arousal coming off Colby or Colin. He let his eyelids fall to half-mast and devoured the sight of Jared in a blue v-necked t-shirt and sleep pants.

Jared was still rubbing his eyes in an attempt to wake up. Christian explained, “Jared, sorry buddy, but I got a late night delivery for you. One drunkass Marshal. Yippee ki-yay.” Christian grinned and nodded his head toward the living room. “Sofa?”

“Um, yeah, sure. Here, I’ll help you.” Jared blinked the last of the cobwebs away and jumped to help Christian maneuver Jensen into the living room.

Flying high, Jensen started singing. _“I see the bad moon rising. I see trouble on the way.”_

Jared snorted as they let Jensen slump bonelessly onto to the sofa. He wrinkled his nose, “Seriously, how much has he had to drink?”

Christian’s eyebrow arched, “More like, what hasn’t he drunk. Sorry, but I gotta haul ass, my friend. I hope it’s okay I brought him here? I didn’t want him driving. And I don’t think Steve would appreciate me bringing a drunk stranger home in the middle of the night to our tiny place.”

“No, it’s fine, Chris. No worries. I’ll take it from here.”

Jensen watched through emerald slits as Jared ushered his friend to the door. Jared’s sleep pants hung precariously low on his lean hips, and Jensen’s wolf hummed in approval. The apartment was filled with the pleasant scent of nested omega mixed now with his own scent. Drunk and more than a little loopy, an oddly possessive thrill went through him at watching ‘his’ omega move through the rooms of the place gathering bedding and pillows.

The alcoholic haze was burning off fast, leaving in its place the burn of arousal. Jensen’s cock thickened in his jeans, and he growled in appreciation as Jared approached him with the bed things. His hand snaked out, and grabbing Jared around the waist, and tugged, pulling his omega off his feet and down onto Jensen’s lap.

“Keep forgetting how beautiful you are,” Jensen mumbled, as he licked up the side of Jared’s neck, and pushed his t-shirt aside so he could mouth over his mating mark.

“You’re drunk.” Jared said, a surprisingly prissy look on his face.

Jensen chuckled, “M’not. Weres can’t get drunk! Com’ere, I’ve been wanting to kiss you all day.” Jensen grinned stupidly before he got down to the business of sliding his tongue over the seam of Jared’s lips. Stubbornly, his omega’s mouth stayed sealed and Jensen started to grow impatient as Jared’s spicy scent enveloped him.

“Well, they can if they’re determined enough, and been wanting to kiss me all day huh? Well that’s not what the smell all over you is telling me.” Jared’s eyes were hard as he looked at Jensen. “Where have you been, a bordello? I smell dozens of omegas, all over you.”

Jensen shivered and looked away. “God, if you only knew.” When he looked back Jared had a puzzled look on his face. “Jared, please trust me, nothing happened, and I’ve wanted to see no one but you all day. I’m way too tired and drunk to get into it now, I’ll tell you the whole story tomorrow. Okay?”

Jared looked at him skeptically, but as Jensen rubbed up against him and suckled on his mating mark. He could feel Jared’s resistance start to soften. “Open for me.” Jensen whispered, using his alpha voice.

Jared gasped, his mouth wide and Jensen gave a contented hum as he thrust his tongue inside, mapping out what was his. His hand reached down and palmed Jared’s cock through the soft material of his sleep pants, squeezing with just the right amount of force until Jared moaned and wriggled against his touch.

Smiling, Jensen used his free hand to push Jared’s hair back from his eyes. He stared at his omega wonderingly, all his good intentions of separate lives flying out the window as his wolf howled with longing.

“What do you do to me?” Jensen mused out loud. Jared shivered, his own need swelling, and Jensen’s nostrils flared as he caught the scent. His hand was inside Jared’s pants, running lightly over Jared’s velvety shaft before grasping it and easing it free of his sleep pants. He let go of Jared’s cock only long enough to lick a broad swipe across his palm and then stared to jack his mate slowly.

His thinking muddled and blurred as his omega began to rut up against him, Jensen’s scent affecting Jared as much as Jared’s did Jensen.

Jensen watched, fascinated, as Jared’s fox eyes started to glow, blue green shifting to blue grey as his movements grew more desperate.

Jensen grabbed Jared around the waist and with his greater alpha strength rolled his omega under him, repositioning them so that Jensen was now kneeling above him. Tearing off his own t-shirt Jensen yanked Jared’s sleep pants down around his hips and stared hungrily as his mate’s hard dick bobbed in the air between them. Need roared through him and he ran one hand over Jared’s chest, tweaking at his mate’s nipples while the other gently grasped the base of his mate’s dick. Jensen swooped down and licked around the broad purpling head of Jared’s cock and dug the tip of his tongue into the slit. The salty taste of Jared was intoxicating.

“Mfft.” Jared groaned and twisted under Jensen’s hands. “Jensen, please.” He moaned.

Wearing a lopsided grin, Jensen ducked down and sucked Jared’s length into his mouth. His mate was fully hard now, and Jensen’s tongue worked at the sensitive spot under the head of Jared’s cock before he started to bob back and forth along his length. He moved his free hand down and rolled Jared’s balls between his fingers.

“Fuck!” Jared cried lurching up, his cock twitching in Jensen’s mouth. Jensen’s wolf growled in approval and he began to hum.

Pulling off of Jared’s cock reluctantly, Jensen laughed and flipped Jared over onto his belly on the sofa and shoved some of the pillows and bedding under his torso to prop him up. Jared’s ass jutted enticingly in the air, and Jensen’s own already hard dick twitched in anticipation. He used both hands to spread wide the cheeks of his mate’s ass. Jared’s hole, exposed and vulnerable, glistened with slick. Jensen dove in, licking around the tight pucker before he shoved his tongue inside. This was the refuge he’d yearned for all day. Surrounded by sadness and sorrow and degradation, as the scent of hurting omegas filled his nose; his wolf knew what he needed.

He realized now the reason for his restlessness, unable to deny his animal brain’s need to find refuge in his omega's healing embrace. Fully sober now, Jensen thrust his tongue in and out of his mate’s glistening hole. As Jensen worked him open, Jared whined and wriggled beneath him, becoming more frantic by the minute. Finally satisfied, Jensen raised his head, a wild, feral grin stretching across his face. He ran his free hand over Jared’s trembling back and whispered, “You ready, Jare?”

“Fuck, yeah, do it before I combust.” Jared groaned, his hand reaching down to start stroking himself.

Jensen’s wolf wanted to bat his mate’s hand away, but Jensen ruthlessly shoved it back. Fumbling, he reached down and flicked open the button on his jeans and tugged at the zipper, groaning as he eased his sensitive cock out. His fingers ran lightly over his knot . He knew it wouldn’t be long before he was fully swollen.

Holding Jared's hip as he carefully lined himself up, he began to ease inside. The tight outer ring of muscle resisted at first, then Jensen bore down and glided the rest of the way, eased by saliva and Jared’s own natural slick.

Jensen howled in pleasure when he was fully seated. His cock was gripped so tightly by Jared’s channel that sparks of pleasure were lighting up his body. He could have come right then in Jared’s tight embrace, but he squeezed his eyes tight and willed himself to calm down. “So fucking perfect,” he wheezed as he curled his hand around Jared’s hip.

At Jared’s sharp intake of breath, Jensen held perfectly still, rubbing soothing circles on Jared's back until his mate relaxed around him. Carefully, Jensen pulled out, almost to the tip before sliding back in.

Jared whined and bucked back against him. “Not gonna break. M’good. Now fuck me.”

Exhaling raggedly, Jensen grinned. Leaning down to blanket his mate, he set up a heart pounding pace, angling his hips so his cock brushed again and again over Jared’s prostate as his knot thickened. The sensation of skin on skin was delicious, and Jensen could feel Jared’s were brushing up against his own, the flesh of Jared’s back rubbing deliciously against Jensen’s hardened nipples. Jensen’s knot twitched, and he buried his head in the crook of Jared’s neck with a groan.

Jared flung back his head and cried out. “J, I’m gonna…”

Jared’s hand was jerking frantically on own cock, and Jensen gave one final thrust he was sure Jared could feel right in his tonsils, lodging his knot deep inside. He cried out as he began to spill inside his mate, his knot pulsing as it released load after load. Jared jolted, his body arching like a bow as he clenched down, his channel spasming around Jensen’s cock. Jared came with a shout, ropes of seed filling his hand and splattering on the pillows and sofa.

Beneath him, Jared slumped onto the stack of bedding Jensen had shoved under him and Jensen followed him, pressed tight against his mate’s back. Idly, Jensen gathered some of Jared’s cooling come in his hand and brought it to his lips, tasting his mate’s salty release.

Realizing he was too heavy to lie on his mate for too long, Jensen knelt up, panting from exertion. The air in the apartment was cool on his sweat damp skin. Unconsciously he swiveled his hips, rubbing his knot up against Jared’s sweet spot in what he hoped was a sexy motion. He wanted to see Jared come again before his knot subsided. Wanted to tip Jared’s head back and see his eyes glowing again just for him.

He eased them both to their sides so they could be more comfortable, absently petted Jared’s quivering stomach as their heart rates settled. If the times in the cave were any indication, they would be joined together for some time. It was only after they had been lying there a while that he noticed the tremors still running through his mate’s body.

Leaning over he took Jared’s chin in his hands and tipped his mate’s head toward him. Jared, was crying, fat tears falling silently into the pillows his shoulders’ shaking in emotion.

Suddenly sober, Jensen gathered him into his arms. Jared flinched and struggled, in a vain attempt to get away. He cried out in pain as the knot tugged at his entrance.

“Easy, easy, not gonna hurt you. You’re safe.” Jensen wrapped his arms around Jared’s body, and curled tight around him. “Talk to me, baby. What’s going through your head?”

Jared only tossed his head back and forth and refused to look at him.

Sighing, Jensen ran his hand through Jared’s silky, soft hair. It made him think instantly of Colin and the cruelty of the rez, and Jensen’s arms tightened protectively around his mate.

“S’okay. We can talk in the morning. It’ll be okay, Jare. It’ll be okay.”

He buried his head in the join of Jared’s neck and shoulders and softly started to sing.

_“I see the bad moon rising._

_I see trouble on the way._

_I see earthquakes and lightnin'._

_I see those bad times today._

_Don't go around tonight,_

_Well it's bound to take your life,_

_There's a bad moon on the rise._

_I hear hurricanes a blowing._

_I know the end is coming soon._

_I fear rivers over flowing._

_I hear the voice of rage and ruin._

_Well don't go around tonight,_

_Well it's bound to take your life,_

_There's a bad moon on the rise. …_

Slowly, Jared’s trembling subsided and by the time he finished the song, Jensen's mate was asleep in his arms. Jensen continued rocking his omega until his knot softened, and he could slip out. He hefted the sleeping man, cradling him next to his chest as he carried him into the bedroom. After carefully arranging him on the bed, Jensen cleaned his mate with a damp cloth, and tucked him in under the covers.

Pushing an errant lock of hair behind his ear, Jensen’s hand lingered on Jared’s cheekbone and traced over his pink lips, pursed in sleep. He stood there for a long while, watching his mate sleep.

Returning to the sofa, Jensen cleaned up the mess and made up his bed from the remaining bedding. He grabbed his abandoned t-shirt and tugged it down over his head and then shucked off his jeans. Stretched out awkwardly on the too short sofa Jensen lay staring sightlessly at the ceiling for a long time.

It seemed that fucking Jared while keeping his emotions out of the mix was going to be a lot harder than he'd thought.

Comments always appreciated ^^


	13. By moonlight

 

 

A pair of curious blue eyes were watching him. Jensen blinked, unsure of what he was seeing as his brain slowly came back online. Totally at ease, a grey pup sat on his chest, his small weight hardly noticeable. Observing that Jensen was awake, the pup stood up, white socked feet spread wide to balance itself. It cocked its head sideways as if to say: You going to get up?

Jensen smiled.

“Yeah, yeah, I get the message. I’m getting up.”

The pup yipped and bounced up on its two hind legs wagging its tail.

Jensen resisted smiling. “You know you’re gonna have to move if I’m gonna get up, right?”

The puppy bounded off Jensen’s chest and waited patiently on the coffee table.

Jensen sat up slowly. His head was pounding so hard he thought it might split in two. Jesus, what had he gotten up to last night? He rubbed the puppy’s head, scratching behind its ear while he looked around the living room. Slow recollection of the previous night's events made him groan when details began to surface. Jensen worried his bottom lip with his teeth, wincing when he remembered what a messy, maudlin drunk he had been, before his possessive, horny side came out to play. He wondered how badly he’d confused things with Jared, now.

“You know where Jared is, boy?”

The pup cocked his head again and with eerie intelligence trotted off toward the kitchen, his tail raised in the air like a flag.

Standing, Jensen ran his hand over his stubbled jaw, scratched his belly and stretched. Comfortable as Jared’s sofa was for sitting, it didn’t make the best bed, and his back ached.

The smell of breakfast cooking wafted into the room, and Jensen’s mouth watered at the thought of Jared’s coffee. He played with the idea of getting dressed but then re-considered. After what had gone on between them last night, his boxers and t-shirt should be acceptable enough. He’d get dressed after he ate. That is, if Jared would feed him.

He padded into the kitchen and was presented with the lovely view of Jared’s back and broad shoulders testing the limits of the soft, well worn t-shirt he was wearing. The blue tee tapered down to a fresh pair of sleep pants that clung to his hips, leaving a thin slice of tantalizing skin showing at Jared’s hip. Although Jensen’s wolf wanted nothing more than to slide up behind his mate and nuzzle against him, Jensen simply coughed and stood in the doorway.

Jared whirled around, careful of the pup already rubbing himself against Jared’s leg. Jared’s eyes were red rimmed, and he swallowed as he glanced at Jensen.

“Um, hi.” Jared waved the wooden spatula in his hand at Jensen. Setting it aside he crouched down to rub the pup’s ears and head. The puppy wriggled excitedly at the attention.

“Hi.” Awkwardly, Jensen ran his suddenly sweaty palms down his thighs, desperately wishing he’d rethought the whole getting dressed thing. Grasping blindly for something inoffensive to say, he when with the first thing to pop into his head. “I didn’t know you had a puppy.”

Jared glanced back at the pup, and his forehead wrinkled. “Oh. Ah, no. He isn't mine, he’s just staying with me a while.”

“Oh I see… Um… Well I guess I should be taking off then. Thanks for letting me crash here last night. You didn’t happen to see my keys did you? I can’t seem to find them.”

“Oh!” Jared hastily stood and reached over to grab at the set of keys sitting in a shallow bowl on the counter. “Chris left them. You were in too rough a shape to drive last night so I think he took them from you. You’ll need a ride back to the bar to get your truck.” He tossed them over to Jensen who easily snatched them out of the air. “What brought that on anyway? It takes a hell of a lot to get a were drunk, but you somehow managed it.” The corners of Jared’s mouth lifted in the start of a smile and then fell just as abruptly as if he suddenly remembered they weren’t supposed to be friends.

“Oh, yeah? Yay me.” Jensen ran his hand though his hair. He considered whether he should tell Jared about his recent trip or not. Then thought, what the hell? He had a right to know. “I–I took Taylor and Patrick to the rez yesterday.”

Jared stood there frozen, his mouth gaping in surprise and hurt. The pup growled and leapt at Jensen, small sharp teeth sinking into the skin of his leg. Jensen yelped in surprise and shook his leg. “Shit! Hey stop that.” But the pup hung on tenaciously.

“Don’t hurt him!” Jared cried out, rushing over to kneel at Jensen’s feet and trying to get the small ball of fluff off him. “Aaron, Aaron, baby, let the Marshal go. You’re only making it worse for Mommy and Patrick, baby.”

Jensen stared at Jared and the puppy– Aaron, his eyes widening in shock. _Shit._ “So that’s….”

“Aaron. Taylor’s boy.” Jared finally managed to pull the growling pup off Jensen. Once free, Aaron started to whimper and shiver in Jared’s arms. “It’s okay, baby. It’ll be okay.”

Jared glared at Jensen. “You should leave.”

At Jensen’s puzzled look, exasperated Jared explained, “What did you expect? You took away his mom and brother. You need to stay away from the pup. He’s already frightened enough.”

“I-I didn’t...wait, I didn’t leave them there. I couldn’t. His mom and Patrick are at Felicia’s. He can see them today. They’re all right, they aren’t going anywhere.”

The puppy’s head lifted, and he glared mournfully at Jensen.

"Honest to God." Jensen raised his hands. “I wouldn’t lie about this. Your mom and brother are okay, and you will be too. No one’s going anywhere.”

Jared swallowed repeatedly and simply stared at Jensen.

“I’ll tell you after you reunite this pup with his family. His mom’s been worried about him.”

One hastily placed phone call later and Felicia, Taylor and Patrick were at Jared’s apartment. Jensen had just enough time to get dressed before Felicia was knocking at their door. Taylor gathered her son into her arms, rocking him. Aaron yipped with joy and licked at his mother’s face. Patrick petted his brother, tickling him under the chin, “Where ya been, furball? You missed all the action.”

As the little family got reacquainted, Felicia moved over to where Jared and Jensen stood. “Sorry, Jared, the Marshal dropped them off at the house late last night, but I thought it was too late to call, that Aaron would be asleep. I was just about to phone you this morning when you called us. Thanks for looking after him for me. I didn’t know I’d be on night shift, but with Chad calling in sick…” Felicia shrugged helplessly. “Has he shown any signs of shifting yet?”

“No, sorry.” Jared shook his head sadly.

“Well, maybe now that he’s back with his mom he will. He’s such a little boy and he’s gone through a lot.” Felicia looked over at Aaron, asleep now in his mother’s arms and sighed. “Things could have been so much worse though. They could all be on the rez. Thank you, Marshal. I never thought I’d be saying this, but I misjudged you.”

Jensen nodded, a tight smile on his face. He was grateful when Jared stepped in and asked Jensen to put on fresh coffee for everyone. He gladly escaped to the kitchen and leaned against the counter. He felt inexplicably dirty, guilty. What could he say? He was just doing his job? How many other innocent weres had he condemned to hellholes like the Bighorn Reservation without realizing the life in store for them? Jensen gripped the counter tightly, his head hanging down between his shoulders. He was finding it hard to breathe.

Jared chose that moment to come in, and Jensen forced himself to let go of the counter and straighten.

“Um, no one wants coffee, they are all anxious to head home. So if you want to say your goodbyes….”

Sucking in a ragged breath, Jensen nodded and, game face firmly in place, forced himself to walk back into the living room. Taylor thanked Jensen profusely, and kissed him on the cheek, while Patrick hugged ‘Uncle Jared’ and said goodbye.

When the door to the apartment finally closed leaving them alone together in the apartment, Jensen turned to Jared and said, “So, Aaron, hasn’t shifted back since the night we arrested Taylor?”

Jared shook his head, his shaggy hair flopping down over his eyes.

“And you’ve been hiding him all this time? But you were in the cave?” _with me_ Jensen looked at him in confusion.

Jared shook his head again. “No. No. I found him hiding out in the supply room at work. When he shifted, and escaped you that day, I think he ran straight to me at the Wired Bean. He must have sneaked in through the back door when someone was doing a delivery. We hung out that night until Felicia could collect him, and she’s had him since then, or at least until she had to take over Chad’s shifts. He’s a great little guy, the only problem’s been him not shifting back. It happens like that sometimes with trauma. Kids, sometimes even adults, hide in their wolf’s shape when things get too scary. You taking his mom and brother away triggered it. Felicia and I have been hoping he'll shift back by the new moon. With Taylor and Patrick back home safe, and all of them together again, it makes that even more likely.

“I need coffee.” Jensen rubbed his hand over his face and backtracked into the kitchen. Jared followed him but didn’t enter, only leaned on the doorframe and watched him.

“So what changed your mind?” Jared asked, his voice soft.

Jensen’s back stiffened. He didn’t turn to answer Jared, didn’t want to see the look on his face. “I-we went there and I was going to go through with it. I was going to turn them over to the rez, and later once I had things settled here, I intended to turn myself in as well. It’s what I do. What I’ve done, my entire career. I-I thought it was the right thing to do.” Jensen filled the coffee maker with water and after filling the basket with fresh grounds, stared resolutely at the counter.

“Then we got there, and it was like nothing I’d ever imagined. All my life I’ve believed in my heart I was doing the right thing. Avenging my family, keeping the were threat at bay, sending them to live out their lives on their own lands. It all seemed so just, so clear. There was them and there was us. Then I get there and the idea, if it ever even was a reality, has been so perverted, twisted, I can’t believe I was even a part of it.”

“What did you see, Jensen?”

Jensen’s shoulders started to shake with emotion. “They’re keeping them on contaminated lands, killing them, slowly. They have _chips_ implanted, so they can’t shift, can’t get away…. They’re starving Jared, dying, and the young omegas prostitute themselves _to hunters_ for extra rations and privileges. It’s a death camp right under our noses, and no one even knows.”

Jared’s shocked intake of breath was the only sound in the room.

“You didn’t know.” Jared’s voice was closer, not touching, but his body heat soothed the chill in Jensen’s soul.

“I should have.” Jensen’s voice was broken and ragged, his claws emerged, digging sharp grooves in the counter.

Large, warm hands took him by the shoulder and carefully turned him.

Jensen didn’t know he was crying until Jared brushed the tears away. “You didn’t hurt those people, Jensen. You didn’t know.” He murmured in his ear.

“I should have.”

Jared coaxed Jensen into the bedroom and laid down with him on the bed, spooning his large, warm body up behind Jensen’s. The man was a furnace, and Jensen gratefully huddled in close. Jared’s warmth gradually seeped into his bones, and Jensen’s shocky shivers gradually eased.

His mate continued to talk, about quiet, comforting things, rubbing his back and arms, encompassing him in his soothing scent. Worn down by the maelstrom of guilt and emotions, it wasn’t long before Jensen nodded off to sleep.

When he awoke some hours later, Jared was still there. He could tell by the were’s breathing that he wasn’t asleep, but he had stayed with him anyway. Embarrassed, Jensen started to get up. He hadn’t shown this much emotion in front of another person in years. Vulnerable and exposed, all he wanted to do was flee to the safety of his hotel.

Jared’s hand on his arm held him in place, “Wait. We need to talk, Jensen. Not just as mates, but as weres.”

Panic shot through him like a bolt. All he wanted to do was shove Jared’s hand away and run. His body trembled, but Jared continued to hold him, rubbing his back. Jensen sucked in a breath and tried to settle. He could do this. He’d already taken the first steps.

“You’re safe. I-I won’t say anything to anyone about the pack. I wouldn’t condemn anyone to life there.” Jensen mumbled as he hid his head in the pillows, a shamed flush filling his cheeks.

“What will you do? Will you stay?” Jared’s voice was perfectly calm as if his life didn’t depend on Jensen’s answer.

“I won’t leave you. I-I’ll be here for your heats, for whatever you need from me to keep you alive.” Jared laced his fingers through Jensen’s and pulled their joined hands up close to Jensen’s heart.

“But what if I need more than to be ‘serviced’ every few months. What if you need more?”

Jensen froze, he could smell Jared’s low level arousal, feel the bulge of his growing erection as Jared’s whole body pressed up against him. Jared wasn’t in heat. His arousal had none of the desperate edge of a hardwired physical response, it was simple attraction. Jensen’s fingers tightened around Jared’s, “I’m not sure I’m capable of more.”

Jared snorted in disbelief, “Why do you think you are so unworthy of love, Jensen? Of loving? Why do you keep pushing me away?”

“I-I just can’t, all right? Don’t ask any more of me, and you won’t be disappointed. I’ll be here for whenever your heat comes. I won’t let you die, Jared. Trust me. But– beyond that, I can’t.”

Jensen pushed Jared’s hands away and sat up from the bed.

“Beaver has offered me a position here, in the department. I’m going to take it. I’ll let you know where I end up living. Get you my new number. All I’ll need is a bit of warning to take time off.”

Jared rose up on one elbow and stared at Jensen, hurt and arousal radiating off him.

Jensen shook his head. “And I’m so sorry about last night. It won’t happen again. I have to go.”

Jensen rushed out the bedroom door and grabbed up his jacket and keys. Jared didn’t move or try to stop him, but his keen were hearing picked up Jared’s whispered words.

“I’m not.”

“What the hell do you mean ‘you’re takin’ some time off’? You can’t do that.” Williams screamed over the phone.

Jensen pulled the receiver back from his ear and waited for Williams' tirade to run its course before bringing the phone back in. “Listen, Captain, what can I say? This one took more out of me than I expected. My leg still isn’t healed up right, and as I am right now, I’d be no use to anyone. More than likely I’d just get myself killed. I know it’s out of the blue, and I never thought I’d hear myself say this, but I need a break, maybe a permanent one. I thought you’d be happy with me using up some of that unused vacation time you’re always needling me about.”

Jensen tried to grin as he spoke into the receiver, keep things light, but he was quickly faltering. More soberly, he continued, “I’ve found a little farmhouse to rent. A coffee shop I like. I just need to heal up a bit before I jump back into the fray again.”

“Should we get you looked at? You don’t need to use up your own time if you got hurt on the job, you know. We’re civilized here!”

Jensen shuddered at the idea of a blood workup and medical by the division. He laughed. “Nah, I don’t want to go through the bother. Besides, when else am I going to use it?”

“How much time we talkin’?” Williams' voice had taken on a suspicious tone. “Hell, you got over a year's vacation squirreled away. I can’t spare you for that long. The building would fall down if I did.”

Jensen grinned. Williams might be a bit overly dramatic, but his heart was in the right spot. Jensen knew underneath the bulldog exterior was a tough chewy center that was kind of sweet, if you worked on it enough. Jensen snorted softly and tried to keep from chuckling out loud, “Well, I was thinking six months.”

“Three,” Williams countered without hesitation.

“Five and that depends on my leg. I can’t go running after weres with a bum leg.

“Four, and don’t think you’ve fooled me, son, that boy you met is wound up in this whole mess, too. I can smell it. Four, that’s my final offer, take it or leave it.” Williams' voice brokered no argument.

Jensen’s grin faltered at the mention of Jared. He knew he couldn’t sneak much past Williams, they’d been working together too long. He’d wanted four months from the get go. But he could play the game. “Fine then, but there’s no boy to blame.”

“I don’t believe you for one second. And just so you know, I would have also accepted five months if you’d pushed back a little harder, but that don’t mean you get off Scott free, you owe me a bottle of single malt, too.” Williams tossed the request in.

Jensen’s eyebrows shot up. He really would miss working with the man. “And why’s that?”

“Cause I’m only gonna put in for three months and you can take the fourth on duty tidying things up there.”

Jensen could hear the smug satisfaction in Williams' voice. He knew Jensen had wanted four months as well. “Fine, deal.”

“Deal.”

Jensen hung up, smiling sadly. Four months would give Williams enough time to acclimate to life without him. After that Jensen would put in his notice, closing another door in his life for good.

With only one day to go before the full moon, it seemed a bit like saying goodbye.

Jensen looked up as he heard two loud raps on the motel room door. He turned off the news channel he wasn’t really listening to. Even before he opened the door his wolf could scent the new pack Alpha on the other side. He was greeted by a smiling Jeffrey Dean Morgan dressed in a battered old fur lined leather jacket, with an equally vintage ball cap on his head.

He bowed his head slightly, acknowledging the Alpha’s dominance. Jensen’s wolf chafed at the gesture, but grudgingly acknowledged Jeff’s position.

“Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it. Wolves are all about who’s on top. It sorts itself out.” Morgan smiled as Jensen motioned him into the room. Morgan’s nose wrinkled in distaste, and Jensen sympathized. The motel room was old and musty. Scents from chemicals and dirt and bodily fluids from a hundred previous guests almost overpowering. Nothing a human would ever pick up, but a confusing avalanche of input to a sensitive were nose.

“Nice place you got here.”

Jensen could hear the irony in the man’s voice even before Morgan turned to face him. Amused hazel eyes watched him as the Alpha struggled to contain the grin threatening to slide across his face. He settled for scratching at his short beard but Jensen could see the dimples on display.

Snorting, Jensen’s eye’s crinkled in amusement, “Yeah. I know. I’m looking for something more permanent. Got a line on a house to rent.”

“You can stay at the pack compound. It’s a bit of a commute, but we’ve got a couple vacant homes. You’d be welcome.”

Jensen could sense the sincerity in the Alpha’s voice, and the offer was tempting. Jensen had found himself uncharacteristically lonely these days, but he wasn’t ready to be surrounded night and day by pack. He might never be. Close quarters with some of the same men who had hunted him, wanted to mate him--Jensen’s gorge rose in his throat, and he swallowed it down.

“I understand if you’re not ready for that. Just… you’re pack now, Jensen, whether you want to be or not, you’re family. You should know that. Pack looks after family.”

Morgan’s statement triggered a fierce swell of emotion in both Jensen and his wolf. Jensen’s tongue caught between his teeth, as he blinked rapidly. Overcome, he could only nod.

“Okay, nuff said.” Morgan’s voice was gentle.

“But that’s not why I’m here. Tomorrow’s the full moon, and you need a sponsor.” Morgan clapped his hands together suddenly and Jensen startled.

Jensen’s eyebrows flew up? What was this, wolf-a-non?

“I beg your pardon?”

“You heard me. A sponsor. You’ll be turning into one of mother nature’s fiercest predators, and you’ll be doing it for the first time. You can’t do it alone. Normally your omega would be with you, but I don’t imagine, if you’re living here, that things are going all that smoothly on that front?”

Jensen looked away. “Your point?”

“Well, it means you’ve got a date with me. As pack Alpha I can’t have you shifting by yourself. I want you to head over to the compound by seven, and I’ll go through the drill with you before we shift.”

Jensen was already shaking his head. “I–I’m not going to shift there. Not where I was just hunted. I won’t. I can’t.”

“You know Kim tells me I’m an insensitive ass. I think maybe after twenty odd years together I should start to listen to the woman. Don’t tell her, though. She already thinks she wears the knot in the family.” Morgan smiled sheepishly and dimples, so like Jared’s, appeared in his cheeks again, hazel eyes flashing. “Where’s a good place then? Your choice.”

“I–I was thinking my old cabin. It’s away from town and isolated. There isn’t a farm for more than forty miles.”

“Oh right, the old Brown place. Good idea.”

Morgan slapped him on the back and headed to the door. “Bring a knapsack with a change of clothes and some food. You’ll be hungry, after. I’ll meet you there at seven. Moonrise is scheduled around 7:30 that night.”

Morgan was striding to his old Ford pickup when some instinct had Jensen calling out to the man. “Morgan, Alpha!”

Morgan paused and looked back at him.

“Thank you.”

“No, thank you, son. Time to show you not all good wolves are dead ones.” Morgan tipped his ball cap before driving off. “Until tomorrow, then.”

Jensen picked his way through the burned remains of the cabin in the growing darkness. It had snowed quite heavily the night before, but even kicking aside the drifts as he combed through the debris, Jensen could tell there was really nothing left. It reminded him, he still needed to do more shopping. A man needed more than two shirts and three pairs of underwear to get by. And work at his new job at the station started on Monday. Fortunately, the uniforms were supplied.

He glanced at his watch, six fifty-nine. He felt inexplicably alone standing there, waiting for Morgan to arrive. There was a hollow spot somewhere inside him and it took him a moment to realize what was wrong. Jared wasn’t there to share this moment, his first shift and his wolf howled in lament. Jensen had totally underestimated how important this moment would be to both himself and his wolf. It was too late for regrets now, though on a number of fronts. Jensen kicked at the snow covered debris.

He was just beginning to wonder where Morgan had got to when he caught his scent in the wind. The crack of a branch had Jensen turning in time to see a large grey wolf with a white blaze down its chest step into the clearing around the cabin.

Jensen sucked in a shocked breath as he was transported back to that night. The night his whole family died.

Shaking, he squeezed his eyes closed and forced himself to calm. After all these years, how could it even be possible, what were the chances?

When he looked again, Morgan had shifted and was watching him curiously.

“Hey kid, you alright? Something walk over your grave? I left my truck down the road. Policy in the pack is for us not to all park in the same spot. It’s always good to have an alternate vehicle if something goes sideways.”

“No, um, you just surprised me.” Jensen tried to smile as his heart jackhammered inside his chest. There was just one more thing to check.

Morgan smiled easily and walked toward him. His bare footsteps left tracks in the thin covering of snow.

“Isn’t that kinda cold?” Jensen looked down and then up at Morgan. He could barely hide his reaction. He reached for his gun and staggered back, breath whistling in and out of him. With shaking hands he pointed his gun directly at Morgan’s chest.

“It was you. You were there. You were going to kill me.” Jensen cried out as his hand started to burn from the silver embedded in the gun's grips. Jensen clenched his teeth and, eyes watering, maintained the punishing hold on the weapon. This close to his shift the sensation had quadrupled in strength. He imagined once he finally crossed over and shifted it would be like holding molten lava in his hand.

Morgan took a careful step forward, his arms raised. “Hang on kid. You got me all wrong.”

“It. Was. You. At the farmhouse, the night your pack slaughtered my entire family.” Jensen’s alpha voice trembled in the air. Morgan paused and bowed his head, as he gnawed at his lower lip.

“Damn kid. I didn’t think you’d recognize me, you were so young.” Morgan rubbed at his beard. “You gotta listen to me, son. You’re not remembering it like it was.”

“I remember your paw on my chest, so vivid even now.” Jensen’s voice fell to a hushed whisper, his gaze glued on Morgan’s right foot, “Three toes.”

Morgan rolled his head back in exasperation, “Stupid bear trap, but it wasn’t like that kid. I was trying to save you.”

Jensen’s head snapped up, a sneer on his face.

“I know you don’t believe me, but you’ve got to listen to me. On my honor as Pack Alpha, please, just hear me out. We were young, stupid and angry at the world when my brother and I got involved in Lehne’s pack. It was five years after the end of the war and it was ugly, Jensen. You’re too young to know. Not all of us were involved in the Great War, a lot of us even disapproved, but after mankind won, we were all lumped together into one big pack to be herded off to the reservations regardless of what we had or hadn’t done.”

Morgan gnawed at his lip and gazed off into the trees as he spoke. “It was hell, right from the beginning, nothing like the fairytale the government tells the people it’s like. My dad was thrown into solitary for complaining about the food, and I lost my sister and mom to cholera. I was a teenager, I was angry. Our true pack and family were gone, and we had nothing. Lehne’s fury represented everything I was feeling and more. So my brother and I busted out and went to find him.”

Morgan ran his hand threw his hair, shaking his head. “I was so stupid back then. We all were. We thought Lehne could lead us to freedom, and then the killing started. I tried to get away, but he stopped me. Threatened to kill my brother if I deserted him. And Jamie – Jamie was still drinking the Kool-aid. I tried to make him see, but he was blind. Lehne cut a swath of death and destruction across California and down to Texas and New Mexico. I always hung back, only pretended to help, but by the time we got to your farm I had already decided, I was going to get out no matter what.”

Morgan turned haunted eyes towards Jensen. “I saw him kill your mother, your sister, and I couldn’t watch any longer. I left and threw up in the bushes, that’s how I found you, crawling away from the farm, burned and bleeding. I will go to my death bed haunted by the look on your face. Lehne was going to kill you, or sic Murphy on you. I did what I thought best and grabbed you by the neck, jerked you around a bit, like I was playing with my meal. I could smell Lehne’s pleasure. He figured I’d finally come around.

“Dragging you off into the bushes was cover, to make me look shy, not ready for killing in front of the others, but I was stalling for time. I tried to push you down. Keep you quiet. I knew Lehne would come back to check on me, and I didn't know how I was going to hide you. Fortunately, the fire department chose that moment to arrive, and we had to leave. I left you there alive by the road for them to find.”

“I remember…” Jensen whispered dazed.

“I slipped away from Lehne the next day and never looked back. I never heard anything again about my brother after that either. I had asked him to join me one last time before I left, but he refused… he made his choice. After that, I spent a long time on the road hunting for a place accepting of both humans and weres. It took me a long time to find Munter’s Gorge, and I will protect this place and this pack with my life. But if you don’t believe me, shoot me now. I couldn’t stop him from killing your family or the others, and I’ll burn in hell for that. But I didn’t kill anyone, kid.”

Jensen’s arm shook, his hand was on fire from the silver eating away at his palm. Blood was starting to drip down over the handle, and Morgan didn’t sound like he was lying, but Jensen grimly hung on. He finally realized what he was waiting for – for his wolf to weigh in. It shocked him to discover he had come to rely on his wolf’s instincts, and honestly, that he was actively seeking him out. Wolf had become a natural part of Jensen now.

Fur rippled beneath his palms, and a howl of approval resonated in his bones. His wolf could sense no deceit and brushed against him in sympathy as his whole world view shifted. Jensen dropped his arm, letting his gun hang limply from his burning hand.

Morgan didn’t move. “I’m so sorry Jensen. I didn’t even realize it was you until I phoned Beaver to find out a little bit more about our newest pack member and your background. With you not having reached puberty, your scent only read as ‘pup’ back then.”

Jensen dropped the gun and, weak-kneed, dropped into a crouch, his hands hanging over his knees as the rush of memories threatened to overwhelm him. The smell of burnt wood pressed in, and suddenly Morgan’s hand was on the back of his neck, pressing down with just enough pressure to soothe.

“Settle.” Morgan’s alpha voice rumbled through Jensen’s skin and his wolf instantly responded to the order. Jensen’s breathing began to ease.

“Come on, kid, let’s shift and get the hell out of here. We got better things to do than dwell on the past. Let me show you what being a were is really all about.”

Jensen pushed his hand into the snow in an effort to numb the pain. He looked at his palm in the moonlight and it was completely scalded, the grains of the silver piercing the skin until it blistered anywhere it had contact. Once the snow had numbed it sufficiently and the bleeding stopped, he fumbled, one handed, out of his clothing and shoes, doing his best to keep from getting blood everywhere. He used his shirt to carefully wrap up the gun before picking it up and stowing it and his other gear in the knapsack Morgan had advised him to bring.

He stood shivering on the layer of freshly fallen snow, staring up at the fat shining disc overhead. As it rose higher in the sky, the moon’s pull was growing in strength. He bit back a whimper and looked at Morgan expectantly. His Alpha growled, “Shift.”

And Jensen did.

His skin began to ripple and suddenly, Jensen was standing, not on two legs, but four. The world around him expanded, his senses flying in all directions. Sight even sharper, hearing more acute. Jensen grinned like a loon, this was what the bionic man must have felt when they rebuilt him. Jensen could smell the nearby river and the fox a couple of hundred yards off, the rabbit clutched between its teeth, a recent kill. He could discern the hundred scents still lingering in the ashes of the cabin, plastic, wood, fur, fibers, and traces of his favorite cereal. His eyesight had grown shaper as well and he picked out the owl on the tree branch at the edge of the tree line. He could hear its claws scratching at the branch where it perched.

It was as if he could see, hear and smell in all directions at once. His wolf danced and ruffled his fur, anxious to get started, and Jensen realized that his wolf wasn’t separate anymore; and the smile he was smiling now had his considerably longer tongue and sharper teeth showing, tongue lolling out. He had shifted not only abilities, but shape.

He shook his head in surprise. Shifting had been so easy, he had just listened to Morgan’s voice...

He glanced down, steeling himself for what he would see and was surprised to find his fur was white, with small gold flecks running over his paws. Fucking freckles, they followed him everywhere. He smiled again, white fur, how cool was that? And there was no sign of pain in his hand… paw… where the silver had burned. The shift had healed his hand.

Fur brushed against his insides and, dazed, Jensen turned his attention inward. Wolf was there with him as well, but not in control as he had been at Jensen’s turning. This time it was more like two equals meeting on a field, Wolf ceding to Jensen’s intelligence, Wolf’s instincts guiding Jensen’s moves. He glanced at Morgan, who had already shifted and was once again the grey and white wolf. Morgan’s eyes glowed a mix of brown-grey in the darkness. His alpha growled and started into a run. Jensen followed.

The land was beautiful and Jensen took it in, in a way he never could have done before. Glorying in the rush of the wind in his fur as he and Morgan sprinted through the trees. The moon hummed around them, and all the hairs on Jensen’s body tingled. He could see Jeff’s eyes glow in the darkness, and he imagined his were glowing, as well. Joyfully he howled, and listened to it echo through the trees, a whole new world to explore.

After a few hours making his way through the forest with Jeff, Jensen was satisfied he had got his wolf legs under him. He wasn’t tripping and falling over himself as he had been at the beginning. Morgan, watching him carefully, had even kicked up the pace, a sure sign he was doing better. More confident now in the physical process of moving, Jensen had time to think about other things. It was pretty obvious Morgan had a destination in mind and Jensen had been happily following his lead for the last two hours, the pair climbing steadily upward. Curious, he began to wonder where Morgan was taking him. Jensen was amazed at the stamina of his wolf. Sure footed and strong, Wolf covered distances in an hour it would take Jensen a day to hike.

Able to concentrate on more than putting one paw in front of the other now, it didn’t take Jensen long to notice they were being followed. Stealthy as Jared was, between their mating bond and the spicy scent of him that traveled easily over the fresh bed of snow, the game was soon up.

Jensen smiled. His omega was worried about him. It made Jensen’s tail curl in the most unfamiliar way. He wasn’t used to anyone caring about his comings and goings, and he had to admit, he had been missing his mate. It was strange, after being forced to give up such a large part of his life, there should be more of a hole, a feeling of missing something. Instead he was now surrounded by a whole group of people who wanted to look after him, from Beaver, to Morgan, the pack, and now a mate. Sure, Williams had looked out for him over the years, but this was somehow different, deeper, richer. Something Jensen didn’t know he was missing in his life and could learn to crave.

With a gruff growl, Morgan nipped at his side, urging him onward.

They broke from the heavy covering of trees out into the open, a pleasant change, and Jensen gazed around. They were far up the mountains, on a wide ledge. Below them, off in the distance, sharp wolf eyes could make out the lights of Munter’s Gorge. The moon glowed overhead, pale and beautiful, reflecting off the snow so strongly even without wolf vision he was sure he could clearly see Morgan beside him.

The older wolf settled on his haunches, flung his head back and howled. It was a beautiful sound, haunting, and wild, and Jensen’s wolf joined in and together they paid tribute to the distant moon and all her gifts. Somewhere deeper in the forest another voice joined them, sad but hopeful… _Jared._

Jensen closed his eyes as his omega’s mournful call tugged at him. He knew beyond a doubt that Jared was not calling just to the moon, but to his mate. Jensen’s answering howl contained a note of loneliness and longing that Jensen would have never been able to admit to in person.

Morgan and Jensen sat there for a while in companionable silence, taking in the crisp night air. Then Morgan turned to leave. When Jensen started to follow, Morgan shook his head and nudged Jensen toward the woods, where Jared’s howl had come from.

Jensen stood there, torn between his desire to follow the clean sweet scent, and the other, more human desire to run, far away. He shook his head and ducked his head submissively, begging Morgan to take him with him, but Morgan growled and nipped at his side again, his meaning clear. He waited until Jensen was forced to trot off reluctantly in the direction of Jared’s scent. When Jensen turned his head in one last ditch effort to make Morgan take him with him, the older wolf was gone.

Jensen huffed out a breath. He imagined Morgan wouldn’t make it easy for him to follow him. His only real choice was Jared. Had been for a long time. Paws suddenly eager, Jensen set off to find him.

The woods were different now that Jensen was alone. In their headlong rush to the summit, Jensen hadn't had time to savor his surroundings. Now, as he ambled along trying to follow Jared’s trail, he took joy in the quiet crunch of the snow beneath his padded feet, the crisp, clean scent of the snow around him and the quiet sounds of the other animals in the forest.

He had been following Jared for a while, his scent gradually growing stronger before he ran across actual paw prints. The predator in him perked up, and he leapt forward, eager to continue the hunt. A few miles later the prints led him to another clearing in the trees. Stepping out from the forest, Jensen found himself in a wide-open expanse of blue-white. Jensen’s gaze narrowed as he spotted Jared, a mysterious, shadowy silhouette beside a frozen pond at the edge of the field.

Jensen padded forward, his paws sinking deeper in heavier snow. Jared’s scent grew stronger, musky and sweet, as he drew closer. It made Jensen want to bury his nose in Jared’s fur and lose himself in his mate. Jensen’s sheath dropped in anticipation.

 _Down boy_ Jensen thought, _we’re just going to talk, nothing like that’s going to happen._

He came to a stop within a few feet of Jared and tilted his head, admiring his mate. Even in wolf form, Jensen would have known Jared anywhere by the shy tilt of his eyes and the gleaming brown of his fur.

Rising from his haunches, Jared came closer and sniffed, tentatively stretching out his long neck to lick at Jensen’s snout and muzzle in greeting. After Jensen’s low growl of approval, Jared circled Jensen, surveying him, his head low.

Jensen's ears twitched as he tracked his mate’s graceful movements. Jared’s eyes stayed on Jensen the entire time, but the only parts of them that actually touched were their tails. Jared’s swished softly against Jensen’s legs in passing, and Jensen shuddered.

When Jared had completed his circuit, he butted his head against Jensen’s flank, yipped playfully, then darted off towards the woods, a dark streak racing across the snow.

The alpha in Jensen took over and with an answering howl of his own, he was off, racing after his mate through the darkness. They ran for miles, Jared sometimes letting his alpha catch up, sometimes not, his tail a flag, daring Jensen to follow.

He finally caught Jared near the banks of a river, scattering a startled family of deer in their wake.

Jensen leapt past him, cutting him off, tackling Jared’s sleekly furred body to the ground. Both were panting by then and Jensen licked and nibbled at Jared’s muzzle as they wrestled. At some point, Jared’s scent changed from musky to sweetly aroused and his mate whined, exposing his neck submissively. Jensen’s cock twitched and with an approving growl, he bit down on that elegant neck.

Wolf had no second thoughts, no doubts, and a thrill of victory rushed through him as he claimed and marked his mate. For his mate’s part, satisfaction radiated off Jared in waves as he wriggled beneath Jensen. With a small yip of happiness he rolled to his belly and raised his tail and hunched there, stock still, exposing his entrance to Jensen.

Jensen snarled. He wanted nothing more than to complete his claim and take his prize, but the human part of him needed to be sure. He danced around to lick at Jared’s muzzle, forcing his mate’s head up, he needed to be sure. Jared whined and bobbed his head and blinked his sly, foxy eyes at Jensen.

With a howl of triumph Jensen stalked around his mate and sniffed at his tight hole. The scent was glorious and Jensen lapped at the source of the musky odor, Jared wriggling back to get closer to his tongue. Nudging between his legs Jensen could see Jared’s own sheath had dropped, and he laved the pink exposed tip of Jared’s cock lovingly.

Unable to contain himself any longer Jensen pressed himself up on Jared’s back, his forelegs squeezing around Jared’s haunches, instinctively holding him in place. With an impatient growl, his wolf instincts took over and Jensen started to hump his mate, his prick poking at Jared’s hole, again and again until it finally caught on his mate’s rim and he speared him. His cock slid in easily on a layer of saliva and slick, and Jensen howled.

Jared shivered beneath him as he set up a pounding pace, rubbing Jared’s prostate as he thrust repeatedly into his mate. His knot began to swell, catching again and again on Jared’s rim. Thrusting madly, Jensen snarled as his knot caught for the last time, and Jensen was locked inside.

Jared came, with a high pitched keening sound, his spend splashing on the snow below. It triggered Jensen’s own orgasm, coming in seemingly never ending pulses deep inside his mate. Jensen snarled and bit down once more on Jared’s neck, claiming him in this form as he had in the last. The two collapsed onto the snowy ground. Jensen continued to rock inside his mate, laving gently at the fur on Jared’s neck and shoulders, and nibbling at his mark. Jared’s low rumble of satisfaction thrummed through them both.

Still in wolf form, they awoke in the morning curled together in the snow. By unspoken agreement, Jared led Jensen back to the ruins of the cabin. He left Jensen by his knapsack to shift and don his clothing and padded off into the woods, presumably after his own.

Jensen stood there, perplexed, and wondered how he was going to shift on his own, but as simple as thinking it, his form rippled and changed. The ease of the transition surprised him. As an outsider watching, it had always looked so painful but experiencing it first hand there was only a slight tingle and mild disorientation as you changed. In the chill morning, he didn't waste any further time on reflection, quickly donning his clothes and boots before going over to start his truck.

He sat there, engine idling as the Rover warmed, inhaling a trail bar he’d packed in his knapsack. He wondering if Jared would return or if he had his own way back. It felt wrong to leave without a word, after the night they’d shared. He was almost ready to leave when he saw a tall, shaggy head loping through the trees. Jensen let out a shaky sigh. He didn’t really want to think too hard about it, but he wanted Jared beside him on the ride home. Maybe wanted Jared beside him permanently. His wolf howled his approval at that thought.

A little shy, Jared opened the passenger door and leaned in. “Um, mind if I catch a lift with you? Jeff seems to have ditched me.” At Jensen’s nod, Jared climbed in and buckled up. His mate gazed awkwardly ahead of him as Jensen put his foot on the accelerator, preoccupied with his own thoughts of Morgan’s matchmaking. Jensen snorted, Morgan was a devious old alpha.

Once they were on the main road Jared asked quietly, “So…um, what did you think of shifting?” His voice sounded strained. The ease with which they had spent the last night together seemed like it could quickly evaporate if Jensen didn’t take action fast.

He darted a quick glance over at his mate and said softly. “You were beautiful. I don't think I ever told you before but you were. You are.”

A red blush crept up Jared’s face. “You don’t have to say that. I know I trapped you into this. I-I shouldn’t have come. I just…”

“No, I was wrong, you saved me. I would never have survived as an omega in the pack. You knew that. You saved me and last night you were there for me again.” Jensen’s chest tightened as the truth of that statement settled in.

Jared bit his lip nervously and looked away.

“I didn’t know… there's so much I've been wrong about, about your people, and how beautiful it can be. About the rez system and how ugly and horrible it is. I’ve been wrong about so many things, but mostly I’ve been wrong about you.”

Jared turned, and looked at Jensen, his eyes wide. “So…”

Jensen blew out a breath. “So… maybe things aren’t quite as black and white as I first thought…between us, that is. I think I need you to give me some time, though. It’s a lot to take in, suddenly being a were, you, me. But maybe, if you’re open to it, we could do more than see each other during your heats.” Jensen looked over at Jared expectantly. “If you’re okay with that? Maybe start small, like how about breakfast together? I don’t know about you, but I could eat the whole breakfast menu at Darcy’s.”

“Yeah, yeah that would be nice.” Jared nodded and looked out the passenger window. Jensen thought he could smell salt in the air.

Comments always appreciated ^^ 


	14. The Thaw – Epilogue

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**Two months later**

Jensen wasn’t all that surprised to see Beaver’s old Dodge pick-up come down the drive on his day off. Things had been going pretty well at the station and Jensen had settled in well. There was still some awkwardness with a few of the pack members, but he could only prove himself by actions, not words. They would come around, or they wouldn’t. Jensen shrugged, he’d given up thinking he could control anything these days.

What he did know, or was slowly coming to find out, was that with a few rather notable exceptions like Pellegrino and those loyal to him, the residents of Munter’s Gorge, human and pack, really were good people. He fit in here. He didn’t know who was more surprised by that, them or him. Friday night live music night at Kane’s became a regular thing, with Jared often joining them for beers and to cheer them on. When Jensen took the stage with Kane, Jared only had eyes for Jensen. It soothed Jensen’s beast in a way he never would have expected to have his mate by his side. He was taking it nice and slow with Jared, he didn’t want to make any more mistakes with his mate.

True to his word, about a month after Jensen started as a deputy, Beaver began to shift some of the heavier lifting in the department over his way. Jensen could see a day, maybe a year or so from now, when Beaver called it quits and started fishing full time, but for now he simply took the odd extra day off, feeling out his Deputy Sheriff’s abilities one step at a time.

Snow crunched underneath the tires as Beaver’s truck came to a halt. It was almost December and another layer of snow had fallen last night. Jensen didn’t mind the cold as much as he used to. Probably thanks to his wolf. He pulled his collar up, nonetheless, and waved at Beaver.

“Nice little place ya got here, Ackles. Good timing with the Bakers wanting ta visit their grandkids in California. Might even become a permanent thing, from what I hear, if they can find the right buyer, of course. Especially knowing how well the place would be cared for, and all.” Beaver looked around at the neat as a pin farm. Jensen tossed the last forkful of hay into the outdoor bin for the horses to nibble at during the day and set his pitchfork down.

Jensen tipped up his Stetson and took a long look at Beaver. He’d underestimated the Sheriff at first, thought him a bit of a patsy, but now he knew better. Beaver was a wily old coot. Jensen smiled fondly. The Sheriff and Williams would get on like a house on fire. He was onto him now, though, he knew Jim was playing the long game. It was Jim that had put in a good word to the Bakers about Jensen and got him the rental. Still, Jensen couldn’t deny the pleasure and sense of accomplishment he experienced at the compliment. And the idea of maybe buying it from the Bakers and setting down roots was more attractive than he’d expected it to be.

The whole place gleamed from top to bottom now, thanks to the care and attention Jensen had lavished on it. He’d had a lot of thinking to do, and he’d worked steadily on the Bakers’ somewhat neglected farm as he did it. He’d been thinking about the pack and about Jared, his job at the Hunter division, and Williams.

He knew he’d have to call Williams soon, let him know he was leaving the bureau for good. He knew Williams probably already knew. In their sporadic chats, Jensen hadn’t tried to hide how happy he was here. It was time to make it formal.

He’d take a trip to Dallas to close up his apartment, get the stuff he wanted to keep shipped out to Montana. Most important he’d collect his pride and joy, his high end Italian coffee machine, and then go into the office to say his goodbyes.

It would probably take a week or so to get around and see everyone he wanted to see and do all the paperwork, turn in his Range Rover and maybe file away some important information to bring back with him about the rez system to help him in the future. And he’d see if maybe he could set up a consulting gig to keep his hand in with the hunter division. The one thing he knew for sure was, as happy as he could make his life here in the Gorge, he couldn’t rest until he’d found a way to burn the reservation system to the ground. And he had no qualms in using all the friends and contacts he’d made over the years inside the bureau to get that ball rolling.

Yes, tidying up the grounds, fixing the leaking kitchen tap, and replacing the aging sink and toilet in the washroom had been very conducive to thinking. It was funny how much the homey accomplishments filled him with pride, too. He’d never stayed long enough in a place to bother fixing it up the way he’d really like. He had whooped out loud when he discovered forgotten gallons of paint under a tarp in one of the many outbuildings. The latest project he tackled was fixing the old porch and the bench swing that hung from its ceiling. He could imagine spending many pleasant hours curled up there in the company of a certain omega. There was more he planned to do, but he wanted a certain person’s opinion on the more important stuff, like the wall color and type of furniture for their bedroom.

It had taken persistence and patience to gentle the horses to his scent, wolves and horses not having the best of track records together. Jensen was many things, but tenacious was right there at the top of the list and with love and attention and maybe a few sugar cubes and extra oats, he and the Bakers’ four horses, Tigger, Flash, Princess, and Molly, were now the best of friends. Cutting up an apple he’d brought with him, he doled out equal shares to the four beauties and invited Beaver up to the house for coffee.

Jim sat at the old turquoise and chrome dinette set, while Jensen put on a fresh pot of coffee and quickly washed up, in the tiny powder room off the kitchen. He puttered around setting out a plate of biscuits and cookies to snack on before settling down beside the sheriff with their two steaming hot mugs of coffee. Jim’s pale blue eyes surveyed him sympathetically. “Hmm, not bad,” he said after taking a sip from his coffee cup. “Not as good as Jared’s but passable.”

Jensen smiled crookedly, and leaned forward to cross his arms on the table. “I drive the forty miles to Townsend to get it, but you know that, you old coot. You had me followed there more than once. Deputy Hodge may be a good cop, but he’ll never make it as an undercover.”

“Hmm.” Beaver adjusted his battered ball cap. “Just wantin’ to be sure you don’t change your mind and turn us all in before I let you know _all_ my secrets.”

Jensen barked out a laugh, the corners of his eyes crinkling with mirth. “What, like the secret you put eggshells and salt in the coffee maker at work? Or that old Mr. Gunderson has been having an affair with the widow Perkins for the last God knows how many years? Those secrets?”

Beaver’s mouth twisted and he snatched his cap off his head and slammed it on the table with a disgruntled growl. “Maybe.”

“Well don’t worry, I’ve made up my mind. I’m not going anywhere. You’re stuck with me for good.” Jensen took a desultory sip.

“You could be happy here you know, son. Why go driving miles out of your way when great coffee is right here under your nose?”

Jensen smiled sadly, “I just wanted to take it slow. I didn’t want to put any pressure on anyone. Just because we’re mated, doesn’t mean we’re meant for each other.”

Beaver snorted, “I don’t know why this is so hard for you. You’re a smart man. If you’d just stop being such an idjit you’d see what’s right in front of your face. You two were meant for each other, as sure as peas were meant for carrots. You need to do right by that boy. If for no one else, then for me. My coffee’s been off since this whole mating thing went down. And I need my hit in the mornin’.” Beaver put his ball cap back on and tipped it back on his balding head.

“And you need something warmer at night than your own thoughts . Montana ain’t exactly the big city, and part of livin’ here is depending on folks. Don’t you think it’s about time you let that big chunk of ice you got around your heart thaw? Maybe let someone in?”

Beaver stood and pushed his half finished coffee away. “I think we’re done here. I gotta get going. I got some bait and tackle catalogues to go through. Spring can’t get here any too soon, if you ask me.”

Jensen followed Beaver out into the yard and watched the sheriff climb back in his truck and drive off, snow kicking up behind him as he disappeared around the bend.

He lowered into a sit on the porch steps and sat there thinking a long, long time. It was only a few days until the next full moon. He intended to spend every second this time around with Jared. He remembered how tenderly his wolf had looked after Jared practically since the beginning. Wolf had been a better mate to Jared than Jensen had been. Wolf had known that he and Jared were meant to be together from the beginning maybe because Wolf’s heart wasn’t a dark and stunted place.

He’d closed himself away for so long, hadn’t let himself love anything since his family's death. Maybe it was just another of the many things he’d been wrong about. Maybe it was time to take that final step and invite Jared into his life, since the man had already crept into his heart.

Climbing into his truck and heading down the mountain, Jensen could feel the tight bands around his heart ease. It was time to get himself a real coffee.

When he entered the Wired Bean everything was much the same as the first time he’d entered, right down to the tall shaggy haired man humming, slightly off key, as he filled in the day’s specials. Once again, Jensen admired how Jared’s long, elegant fingers brought the menu on the wall to life.

This time though, Jensen could tell that half of Jared’s regulars pretending to be busy with their papers were weres, living peaceably alongside their equally nosy human counterparts. A hush fell over the café, news traveled fast in the mountains, it seemed.

Jared whirled around as soon as Jensen’s scent reached his nose. A smile spread across his face as he quickly wiped his chalky hands over his black apron. Jensen swallowed and took off his Stetson.

“Um, been a long time since I’ve seen you in here, Marshal. How can I help you?”

Jensen could see Jared’s long neck working, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down nervously. “I’m not due for my heat for a couple of weeks yet.” Jared whispered half under his breath, but Jensen heard him well enough.

“That’s not why I’m here.” Jensen said softly.

Jared’s shoulders jerked, and he swallowed again. “Then… why?”

“Our date nights…” Jensen licked his lips and trailed off.

Jared looked like he was about to cry. “If you don’t want me there, I’ll –”

“They aren’t enough for me. I need more. I need a lot more, Jared. I want you to be my mate in life, not just when you need me.”

Hurt puppy dog eyes gazed at him intently and Jared’s voice was raw when he spoke, “What about me not being your speed. Sleepy backwater little town like this…”

Jensen cut him off, “Did I ever tell you what an asshole I’ve been?”

Jared’s brow wrinkled and he mutely shook his head.

“Jared, trust me when I say this, I need you.”

Jared blinked, and blinked again. “Are you sure…?”

“Absolutely. Are you?”

“Yes!” Jared smiled tremulously as he exhaled raggedly.

“So am I.” Jensen sidled behind the counter and took Jared in his arms. “Come’ere darlin’. _Mine_.” He growled, as leaned in to kiss his mate.

“Yours.” Jared whispered.

 

THE END

 **Comments Immensely appreciated no matter when you read this story.** ^^ 

Fic writers work for comments and I'd like to at least make minimum wage : )

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Ramblings and Thank Yous:**
> 
> This big bang seemed to get bigger the longer I chewed on it. Instead of sanding off rough edges I seemed to have added 25k worth of spackle since putting in my rough draft. I don't know where all the words went but they disappeared in there somewhere. I think it's no great surprise to anyone who knows me that this story got bigger LOL. Editing… must look up the definition for that at some point.
> 
> So many lovely, wonderful people to thank
> 
>  **A/N 1:** First and foremost a GIGANTIC HUG AND SQUEE for the work my BigBang artist and partner in crime: **inanna_maat** did on this story. She is the most talented, generous person to walk the earth. She literally made me something like 50 amazing, unique, BEEEuutifull pieces of art for this story. And I've jammed as much of her wonderful art in my story as I could.
> 
> What a pleasure working with her. I thought I hit the jackpot when she picked me for Sharp Teeth my first Big Bang two year ago, but to have her pick a story of mine again : DDD I feel so honoured to have her art on my pages – Wow, just wow. I love it all to pieces. Go take a look at the beauty and tell the girl how awesome she is, because she is.
> 
>  **A/N 2:** Then there are my betas, from simplybeing handholding and spitballing over the phone on how the plot could roll out to kinkyheels and sylsdarkplace who gave such much needed perspective on my story and a ton of continuity and motivational recommendations. It was so great to feel confident I'd ironed out most of the plot holes before posting, thank you so much guys for your eagle eyes and wonderful advice.
> 
>  **A/N 3:** And a big hug and thank you to my friend and editor, fufaraw The perfect word here, the switch around there, the slap to the head for just plain dumbass mistakes, she does it all. A consummate writer in her own right, she is a generous mentor and friend and my work is all the better because of her contributions and sage advice. Thank you so much for all your wonderful help.
> 
>  **A/N 4:** And lastly a huge * huzzahs * to wendy for running the big show and wrangling hundred of artists and writers and making it look easy. Thank You!
> 
> Comments always appreciated ^^  | | [Master Post on LJ where I have PDFs and ePub and Mobi's with all the graphics ](http://meus-venator.livejournal.com/67191.html) | | [And **PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, go show inanna_maat some love for all this terrific art!!! She deserves many, many KUDOS ******](http://inanna-maat.livejournal.com/101123.html)


	15. Author Note

This story was inspired by a prompt [](http://marilena172.livejournal.com/profile)[marilena172](http://marilena172.livejournal.com/) submitted for the 2013 [](http://spn-j2-xmas.livejournal.com/profile)[spn_j2_xmas](http://spn-j2-xmas.livejournal.com/) Gift Exchange. When it looked like this story was going to take longer to finish I switched to a different prompt [](http://marilena172.livejournal.com/profile)[marilena172](http://marilena172.livejournal.com/) gave and ended up writing [Snow Falling](http://meus-venator.livejournal.com/52933.html), for her. But I always wanted to go back and finish the first story I started, so this was it.


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